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Microsoft with some help from the New York Attorney Gerneral's office has won a $7 million settlement from Spam King Scott Richter.

Microsoft says that it will use the money that it has won from the settlement toward efforts to battle spam. Microsoft's General Counsel, Brad Smith said that about $5 million would be reinvested by Microsoft into further working with law enforcement against computer-related crimes.

"People engage in spam to make money," said Smith. "We have now proven that we can take one of the most profitable spammers in the world and separate him from his money.

"And I think that sends a powerful message to other people who might be tempted to engage in illegal spam," added Smith. Brian at Spam Kings blog writes:

"Unfortunately, the outcome of that litigation, along with the AOL spammer's gold sweepstakes, arguably sends the wrong message -- to spammers, anyway.

To be sure, it's good for Microsoft and AOL to show vigilance about keeping spam out of member in-boxes. AOL in particular can use the sweepstakes stunt to draw attention to its measurable success in the spam wars. And Microsoft definitely deserves credit for its courtroom persistence against the crafty Richter legal team."

Spam sent from Richter's businesses totaled over 38 billion emails a year. Richter has agreed to send email only to people who opt-in for it from now on.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.