The service is a result of the software giant's partnership with Lokaldelen (see what they did there?), a Swedish business directory.
Lokaldealen's offers are exactly what you'd expect to find on any Groupon clone's site: Users purchase limited-time-offer vouchers for discounts of popular goods and services.
For example, the current deal in Stockholm is 30 pieces of sushi for 140 kronor, a discount from the normal price of 285 kronor. The deal is running for 32 hours longer; so far, nine people have purchased vouchers.
In addition to the partnership with an established brand, the service is getting a social boost via a Facebook tie-in.
Microsoft will market the deals on the Swedish version of the MSN portal, in Hotmail and via Live. Microsoft told Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri that Lokaldealen currently employs a 300-person salesforce and is preparing to do business in 12 districts in Sweden. The service is now available in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.
Groupon has already established a presence in Sweden and is Microsoft's main competitor in that country for daily deals. If the Lokaldealen is a hit in Sweden, the rest of Europe is next on Microsoft's list.
Check out the official promo clip for the new service, and in the comments, let us know if you think Microsoft's first foray into local deals will fly or flop.
[via AllaDeals]