Microsoft's previous "Get the Facts" campaign, pitting Windows Server vs. Linux, was controversial but ultimately successful in getting people to at least consider the "total cost of ownership" of operating systems, not just the initial price of buying. Now the company is using the same phrase in an attempt to fend off its rivals in another increasingly competitive market -- Web browsers.

The company has launched a new site that features a head-to-head comparison between Internet Explorer 8, Firefox and Chrome. Not  surprisingly, the Microsoft chart declares Internet Explorer the winner in seven out of 10 categories -- security, privacy, ease of use, developer tools, reliability, compatibility and manageability.

Ever the magnanimous market leader, Microsoft concedes a tie in the areas of customizability, performance and Web standards.

The site also includes sections on "mythbusting" and "reasons to install," and quotes selectively from reviews and coverage of the browser.

"The site has a lot of good information, but all in all, it is covered with PR propaganda that does more harm to IE8 than good, at least for tech-savvy users who tend to hate Microsoft's browser," writes Emil Protalinski on Ars Technica's One Microsoft Way blog.

"Propaganda" is also the central word in the headline on this Lockergnome post about the Microsoft campaign -- which concludes, tongue in cheek, that IE8 "also cures cancer, makes you a more noble person, and increases your lifespan by 23%."