NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:

These are the official rules that govern howthe Microsoft Photo sweepstakes promotion will operate.  This promotion will be simply referred to as the“Sweepstakes” throughout the rest of these rules. 

In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer toMicrosoft Corporation, the sponsor of the Sweepstakes. “You” refers to aneligible Sweepstakes entrant. 

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

This Sweepstakes starts at 12:01 a.m. PacificTime (PT) on February22, 2010, and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on March 1, 2010 (“Entry Period”).  Entriesmust be received within the Entry Period to be eligible.

CAN I ENTER?

You are eligible to enter this Sweepstakes if you meet the followingrequirements at time of entry:

·       You are a legal resident of the 50 United States and Districtof Columbia, and are 18 years of age or older.

o   If you are 18 of age orolder, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should askyour parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry intothis Sweepstakes; and

·       You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of aMicrosoft subsidiary; and

·       You are NOT involved in any part of the administration and executionof this Sweepstakes; and

·       You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) orhousehold member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoftsubsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration andexecution of this Sweepstakes.

This Sweepstakes is void outside of the geographic area described aboveand wherever else prohibited by law.

HOW DO I ENTER?

Toenter entrants must submit a photo related to the daily theme as a link submitting it via an “@” reply on Twitter.com containing the specific hashtag“#hohm” @ www.twitter.com/microsofthohm following the Tweetannouncing the acceptance of the photos.

The dailythemes are:
1.                  Monday,February 22, 2010: Landscape
2.                  Tuesday,February 23, 2010: Architecture
3.                  Wednesday,February 24, 2010: Living
4.                  Thursday,February 25, 2010: Design
5.                  Friday,February 26, 2010: Energy
6.                  Monday,March 1, 2010: Fashion/Style
7.                  Tuesday,March 2, 2010: Art
8.                  Wednesday,March 3, 2010: Innovation
9.                  Thursday,March 4, 2010: Building
10.                  Friday,March 5, 2010: Anything Goes/Best of

During theEntry Period, we will only allow entrants to submit one entry per daily theme. Weare not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or forentries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

·       Any incomplete or illegible entry; and

·       Any entries that we receive from you that arein excess of the entry limit described above.

In addition:

·your entry must be your ownoriginal work; and

·your entry cannot have beenselected as a winner in any other contest; and

·you must have obtained any and allconsents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and

·your entry must not otherwiseviolate the rights of any other person or company by using their trademarks,music, logos, names or images.

Entries may NOTcontain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any contentthat:

·is sexually explicit, unnecessarilyviolent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional orage group; profane or pornographic;

·promotes alcohol, illegal drugs,tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particularpolitical agenda;

·is obscene or offensive;

·defames, misrepresents or containsdisparaging remarks about other people or companies;

·communicates messages or imagesinconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish toassociate; and/or violates any law;

We reserve the right to reject any entry, inour sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the abovecriteria.

WINNER SELECTION AND PRIZES

On eachbusiness day (Monday through Friday) during the Entry Period, we will randomlyselect one winner of the prizes designated below

Ten (10) Grand Prize(s).  One(1) $300 gift card to http://www.greenhome.com/ redeamable online only.  Approximate Retail Value (ARV) $300.00.

The totalApproximate Retail Value (ARV) of all prizes: $3,000

We will onlyaward ten (10) prize(s) perperson during the Entry Period.

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a messageto the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) providedat time of entry within seven (7) days following the random drawing.  If the notification that we send isreturned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, wemay award the prize to an alternate, randomly selected winner. 

If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we willconsider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mailaddress used to enter the Sweepstakes . Ifyou are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit ofEligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax formwithin 10 days of notification.  Ifyou are a potential winnerand you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legalresidence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all requiredforms on your behalf.  If you donot complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required formswithin the time period listed on the winner notification message, we maydisqualify you and select an alternate, randomly selected winner.

If you are confirmed as a  winner of this Sweepstakes:

·You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise orservices.  However, if for anyreason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute aprize of equal or greater value; and

·You may not designate someone else as the winner.  If you are unable or unwilling toaccept your prize, we will award it to an alternate potential winner; and

·If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicabletaxes related to accepting the prize; and

·If you are otherwise eligible for this Sweepstakes, but are considered aminor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legalguardian on your behalf; and

·Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’swarranty and / or terms and conditions. 

WHAT AREYOUR ODDS OF WINNING?

Your odds of winning this Sweepstakes depend on the number of eligibleentries we receive.

WHAT OTHER CONDITIONSARE YOU AGREEING TO BY ENTERING THIS SWEEPSTAKES?

By entering this Sweepstakes you agree:

·To abide by these Official Rules; and

·To release and hold harmless Microsoft,and its respectiveparents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and allliability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or inconnection with this Sweepstakes or any prize won; and

·That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all mattersrelated to this Sweepstakes; and

·That by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your proper name andstate of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connectionwith this Sweepstakes, without payment or compensation to you, except whereprohibited by law.

WHAT LAWSGOVERN THE WAY THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?

This Sweepstakes will be governed by the laws of the State ofWashington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of thecourts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of thisSweepstakes.  

WHAT IF SOMETHINGUNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE SWEEPSTAKES CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?

If cheating, a virus, bug,catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event thatcannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referredto as force majeure) affects thefairness and / or integrity of this Sweepstakes, we reserve the right tocancel, change or suspend this Sweepstakes.  This right is reserved whether the event is due to human ortechnical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of theSweepstakes, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entriesreceived before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Sweepstakes.

If you attempt tocompromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Sweepstakes byhacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages fromyou to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Further, we may ban you from participating in any of ourfuture Sweepstakes, so please play fairly.

HOW CAN YOU FINDOUT WHO WON?

We will postthe names of winners who received a prize worth $25.00 or more online athttp://blog.microsoft-hohm.com/news.aspx. This list will remain posted onemonth after February 26, 2010.

WHO ISSPONSORING THIS SWEEPSTAKES?

Microsoft  Corporation

OneMicrosoft Way

Redmond, WA98052