Redmond (WA) - Not to be outdone by yesterday’s announced takeover of gaming services firm Xfire by media giant Viacom, The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Microsoft will pay between $200 and $400 million for in-game advertising services firm Massive Inc. Neither party is confirming the deal this morning.

Massive provides live, Internet-based advertising to online gamers by enabling games to embed billboards and brand names in 3D rendered scenes. Examples include soft drink machines in simulated break rooms and hallways, which happen to include placards for real soft drinks, and billboards scattered around virtual metropolitan areas and country landscapes - all of which tend to be blown to texels by incoming virtual ammunition.