Two weeks after Microsoft and News Corp.'s Fox Network announced an innovative marketing team-up, whereby Microsoft was supposed to be the exclusive sponsor of Fox's forthcoming "Family Guy" variety special, the software giant has backed out of the deal.

The company's executives who watched the tapes of the show - "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" - became somewhat jittery about Microsoft's association with it, largely because they found that "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand."

As per the deal, the show, scheduled to go on air November 8 during Fox's popular Sunday animated block, would have featured a creative, content-integrated promotion of Microsoft's newly- released Windows 7 operating system, in place of the conventional advertisements.

In an October 13 joint press release, pertaining to the upcoming variety show with live as well as animated segments, Fox and Microsoft had announced that the program would "deliver simplicity for viewers-no commercial ad time, no network promotions, and no commercial breaks-and instead will feature unique Windows 7-branded programming that blends seamlessly with show content."

Though Microsoft has withdrawn from the show, which formed part of the company's mammoth, multimillion dollar Windows 7 advertising campaign, sources in-the-know at Fox Network revealed that the Special will now involve another "integrated partner" whose messages will be woven into the content, thereby still leaving the 30-minute program commercial-free!