Genius or desperation? They say there’s a fine line between the two.

Microsoft launched Search Perks, sort of a frequent-flyer program intended to create incentives for people to use its MSN search engine.

If you sign up for the program, you gain “tickets” each time you conduct a search on Live, with a per-day maximum of 25. The tickets are redeemable as discounts on music, books, clothing, games and travel.

When you’re a distant No. 3 behind Google and Yahoo, what else can you do? Had Microsoft been successful in its bid to buy Yahoo, it would have been a distant No. 2. (Google has an estimated 71 percent share of the U.S. market; Yahoo just over 18 percent, according to Hitwise.)

If the program has any chance of success, it’ll be in its ability to create a loyal following from Web users who currently have no affinity for one search engine over another. If all it does is help Microsoft hold onto its (Hitwise) estimated 4.25 percent marketshare in the U.S., it’s probably reason enough to keep it going, knowing it won’t set the world on fire. The thing about creating customer-loyalty programs is that once they’re up and running, shutting them down can create customer ire and bad press.

But here’s the rub: You have to be a fan of Microsoft’s IE browsers in order to participate, because you can’t access the sign-up site from Firefox or Safari.