Michael Jackson hits the charts on Halloween costumes

Don't be surprised if Michael Jackson moonwalks into your Halloween party.


The king of pop is making his first appearance this year on Yahoo's Top 10 most-searched Halloween costumes. He ranks second only to the vampire, a perennial Halloween favorite, according to Yahoo Inc., the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet media company.

With Halloween consumer spending forecast to be down this year, some retailers also are latching onto the recently deceased star's widespread appeal to jump-start sales.

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Angels Fancy Dress Shop, a London-based costume store and online merchant, is calling on Michael Jackson fans to sign up for what the shop bills as the world's first Twitter seance, or "Tweance" on Oct. 30. Psychic Jayne Wallace will question the spirits of four departed celebrities nominated by Twitterers and tweet their responses, according to the company's Web site.


Meanwhile Party City is running a "Dressed to Thrill" TV ad campaign that re-creates Jackson's iconic "Thriller" music video. The party store chain built a haunted forest at Universal Studios Orlando, hired 43 dancers, dressed them in costumes and rechoreographed Jackson's zombie-like dance.

Elvis is still hot, ranking No. 9 in Yahoo's Top 10 costume searches for babies. Yoda, the Star Wars Jedi Master, topped the list as most popular costume for dogs.


Gone from the top 10: Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.


Microsoft at the mall: Microsoft Corp. plans to open its first retail stores in coming weeks in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mission Viejo, Calif., a spokeswoman for the Redmond, Wash.-based software company said, confirming a Thursday report in The Wall Street Journal. The stores are timed to debut with the launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, the report said.


Microsoft disclosed its intention to move into retail earlier this year when it hired former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive David Porter as head of retail stores. It confirmed the location of the stores this summer but has released few details.


The Wall Street Journal report, citing an unnamed source, described the stores as "spacious" showcases for laptops running Windows 7, mobile phones running Microsoft software and Xbox 360 game consoles. They also will have a counter where people can get technical help, the report said.


The company won't say whether it is looking for a Chicago outpost, Microsoft spokeswoman Elizabeth Herrera Smith said.


Rival Apple Inc. operates about 200 stores nationwide and 40 outside the U.S.

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