Seattle-based Mpire today is introducing a new ad network called WidgetBucks that will compete against Google's AdSense and the Yahoo Publisher Network.

P-I reporter Dan Richman has more in his story, writing that Mpire's new service is based around advertising consumer goods. He writes:

So, for example, where a blogger's page refers to plasma TVs, WidgetBucks will serve a specialized ad, which it calls a widget, comparing the prices of the 10 most popular plasma TVs on the market. The ad will let visitors to the blog click on any one of the 10 to get more information.

In early tests, Mpire Chief Executive Matt Hulett writes that the service has generated three to four times ad revenue than traditional ad networks. This is a natural extension of the widget strategy that Mpire unveiled last May.

Mpire's tagline for the new WidgetBucks service: "Ads suck. Ours don't."

Couldn't they come up with something more creative?

Meanwhile, speaking of new online tools in the e-commerce space. Microsoft just purchased Madison, Wis., startup Jellyfish.com, a search engine for online shopping that shares at least half of the money it earns on each purchase with the shopper.