MSN, Microsoft's online content site, is launching Glo, an online magazine for women.

The new publication is a partnership with Hachette Filipacchi Media, which publishes Elle magazine and Elle Decor, and media company BermanBraun, which built the Wonderwall celebrity site with MSN.

The Glo Web site mimics the visual design of a magazine, with large photos and snack-sized text. The content will focus on beauty, style, relationships and living. A beta version reads like a combination of In Style, Lucky, Domino and Oprah magazines. It's targeted at 25- to 49-year-old women.

(This site is not to be confused with Glo's, a diner that serves eggs and coffee to 16- to 81-year-olds in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.)

"It's very visual, fun and creates the kind of emotional response that women have with a magazine, whether it’s from the weight of the book, the shininess, even the smell you get from it," said Scott Moore, regional partner executive producer for MSN. "The idea was to replicate both in content and style that type of reading experience."

Moore describes the tone as aspirational but not elitist. He said it's designed for the "moments of me time" women get during their work day, such as when they surf the Web at lunch for entertainment news.

MSN will sell advertising for the site and promote it through MSN Lifestyle links. Advertisers can buy full-age ads or half-page ads that will be featured as slides in Glo's photo galleries, such as a line-up of sneakers or celebrity evening gowns. Vaseline, JCPenney and Fox Broadcasting have already signed up as advertisers.

"Nothing online I’ve ever seen features that ability to share your ad that much," said Robin Domeniconi, vice president for Microsoft advertising. "When you read a magazine, ads become a part of your experience. Ads have always been disruptive online."

The navigation looks like it was built for the iPad, touchscreen computers and touchscreen phones, with large square navigation buttons and fewer links than an MSN page would list.

"We are certainly anticipating that" people will look at Glo on an iPad, Moore said. "Touchscreens are becoming much more common on all sorts of devices, including phones, iPad and touchscreen PCs."

"I'm a big believer in the iPad," Moore added. "Right now, I guess they sold 300,000. That’s the addressable market."

Bing also gets heavy promotion on Glo, both in a search bar as well as integrated horizontal quotes.

Hachette is providing the editorial content, which will feature seven new stories daily, five days a week. Anne Weintraub, former online director of Elle magazine, will serve as executive editor of Glo.

BermanBraun designed the site, which scrolls vertically, with a graphic navigation bar that moves with the site as the users scrolls down.

Check out the new site at www.glo.com.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @sharonpianchan.