Sometimes all you need is 15 minutes and free software to launch a new project.

Case in point - earlier this week I wanted to create a YouTube video promoting a web page I created, but I didn't really want to spend a lot of time creating the video.

So instead of getting out the camcorders and video editing software, I downloaded and installed the latest version of Microsoft's free Photo Story 3.

Then I started Photo Story, imported 15 photos, added a royalty free music track, and in less than 15 minutes I had completed my new video - which I uploaded to YouTube.

This is a quick and easy way to create great looking videos promoting your products, services, causes or events. Easy to do, and as I mentioned above, Microsoft Photo Story 3 software is free.

You can find Photo Story 3 at http://tinyurl.com/48jvat

Here's one of the videos I created . . .

It took just 15 minutes . . .