Seattle resident Shmuel "Shmuly" Tennenhaus knows a thing or two about drumming up attention online. He made a name for himself with such projects as "Ask a Jew," political kippahs and a fake "break-in" at our favorite local newspaper, among other online pranks.

And as a transplant to the region, Tennenhaus says he has developed a soft spot for the local software giant. So after seeing the criticism of Microsoft's Seinfeld ads, he decided to help out by bestowing upon the company his unsolicited marketing expertise.

Turns out Microsoft wasn't interested. In fact, the company was so uninterested that Tennenhaus, 28, is now trying to figure out how to respond to an ominous notice from a Microsoft lawyer.

The subject of the notice is LifeTakesVista.com, which Tennenhaus says he created to demonstrate advertising concepts he had in mind for the company. The site, a play on the "Life Takes Visa" credit-card campaign, features a series of quirky ads for Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system. The slogans range in quality from the clever to the mundane to the downright weird.

"He Takes Levitra. Life Takes Vista," reads one, accompanied by a picture of a middle-aged man and woman.

Believe it or not, Microsoft isn't objecting to the slogans. Instead, the company is claiming trademark infringement and asking Tennenhaus to remove the Windows logo from his site.

"Use of the Windows Logo Button on your website implies to visitors that your site is affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation, when it is not," wrote William Ferron, a lawyer with Seed IP Law Group, in a Nov. 12 letter. "Thus, we must ask that you revise your website to remove all instances of the Windows Logo Button from the site."

But the best part of this whole thing is Tennenhaus' defense. He argues that his efforts were actually approved by Microsoft. In fact, Tennenhaus contends that no less than Steve Ballmer gave the go-ahead.

As evidence, Tennenhaus offers a series of e-mail messages that he says he sent to the Microsoft chief executive starting in August. (Ballmer often gives out his e-mail address during speeches, so it's relatively public.) In the first message, dated Aug. 21, Tennenhaus tried to tap into Ballmer's frustration over Apple and impress the Microsoft CEO with his buzz-creating credentials.

"I know how to stick it to Apple. Can I email you my idea(s)? I don't want compensation. Enough is enough with the Apple Vs. PC ads," he wrote, before adding: "Just look how much media I generated with spending almost nothing; all in three weeks: http://vanitykippah.com/innews.html"

Some of the messages appear to have received brief replies, based on copies Tennenhaus provided to us. For example, in a Sept. 17 message, Tennenhaus wrote, "I really have a good idea for the Vista ads. Much better and cheaper than Seinfeld. Can I email you?"

Ballmer replied with a simple, "sure," according to the e-mails Tennenhaus provided.

Several weeks later, the e-mails show Tennenhaus sending Ballmer a link to the "Life Takes Vista" site, with a brief explanation of the advertising concept.

"The fun part of this is that it will generate a lot buzz that Microsoft is creative; doing a clever ad for Vista," he wrote. "Hope you likes."

Ballmer didn't reply. But a few days later, the Life Takes Vista site got some attention on some major tech blogs, thanks to tips they received from a mysterious reader named "Lornie" -- the precise identity of whom Tennenhaus would rather not discuss.

Microsoft had no comment this week when asked to assess the authenticity of the Ballmer-Shmuly e-mail exchanges.

However, spokesman Michael Marinello said via e-mail, "Microsoft has no agreement in place or affiliation with this website. This is a routine enforcement matter relating to the unauthorized use of the Windows Vista Logo Button and as trademark owners, we're obligated to defend and protect against infringing or unauthorized uses of our trademarks."

After getting the initial letter, Tennenhaus argued his case in an e-mail to Ferron, the lawyer for Microsoft, citing the Ballmer exchange and offering to put a note on the site disclaiming any affiliation with the company. No dice. Ferron has imposed a deadline of Monday for removing the logos.

At the very least, Tennenhaus has continued his track record of free publicity, thanks to this post. But what will he do about the LifeTakesVista site? As of earlier this week, he was undecided, but his options included replacing the Windows icons with Apple logos -- or maybe with Steve Ballmer's photo.