Google's hidden payroll

"The low cost of living here allows us to live comfortably on that income," he says. "My two sons want to try their luck. We have a high unemployment rate here and making money from Adsense would be the perfect solution for them."

Deepesh Agarwal, who runs a small cybercafe in Rajasthan state, India, draws about 90 percent of his income, or $1,500 a month, from his Adsense earnings. It is a princely sum in a state where the average income is just $300 a year.

"Adsense has changed my life," Mr. Agarwal says. "I can afford things that I was not able to before. I am planning to buy a new car. I can save for my future."

The program is a big revenue generator for Google, too. The company earned some $2.7 billion in Adsense revenues last year. Google refuses to disclose the exact percentage it pays out to Adsense member sites, but recent news reports have put that figure as high as 78.5 cents on the dollar.

"We do not disclose [the revenue share] for different reasons," says Brian Axe, an Adsense group product manager at Google. "But it is more than fair. [These success stories] bring a smile to our faces."

Still, many hurdles remain for Adsense users in the developing world, not the least being access to the Internet.

Payment checks from Google can be difficult to receive due to inefficient or non-existent national postal systems, and they can be even more difficult and costly to cash.

There are also legitimate concerns about people attempting to defraud the system, causing many to wonder whether the program has real sustainability. Some website owners try to increase their earnings by clicking on their own ads, and some create automated sites that exist solely to make money from Adsense.

"Google is actively looking for those kinds of sites," and removes ads from them, explains Eric Giguère, author of "Make Money with Google: Using the Adsense Advertising Program."

Google has a clear interest in protecting the program that last year accounted for nearly half of its advertising revenues, and is quick to play down the threat of fraud. "Many times [the fraud] gets blown out of proportion," said Google's Mr. Axe. "I don't think it's an issue that would unravel the business."

For the time being, that "business" offers a rare opportunity to Web users in developing countries to participate on a level playing field with other websites all over the world.

Thanks to Adsense, a blogger in New Delhi can earn the same 5 cents for an ad-click as a blogger in Detroit. For many Adsense users in the developing world, that opportunity has become perhaps the most unintentional - and most successful - development program to spring from the online revolution.

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