Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)  announced on Wednesday that it will pay $240 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook, which puts a $15 billion valuation on the less than four-year-old online social network.

The deal ends speculation about which deep-pocketed suitor -- Microsoft or Google (NSDQ: GOOG) -- would wind up with a stake in Facebook, which claims 49 million active users worldwide.

Microsoft will also sell online ads for Facebook outside the U.S.; the company inked an exclusive U.S. ad deal with Facebook last August.

"We think this expanded relationship will allow Facebook to continue to innovate and grow as a technology leader and major player in social computing, as well as bring relevant advertising to the more than 49 million active users of Facebook," said Owen Van Natta, vice president of operations and chief revenue officer at Facebook.

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