Technical Devices

The tweet that caused the outrage.

This post was originally published on Mashable.com.

Microsoft received much Twitter flak after a small PR account for Xbox encouraged followers to remember recently deceased musician Amy Winehouse by buying her last album on the company’s entertainment marketplace, Zune.

After about an hour of retweets – with comments such as “classy”, “crass much?” and “Microsoft failing at social media” – the account tweeted a follow-up.

Amy Winehouse

“Apologies to everyone if our earlier Amy Winehouse ‘download’ tweet seemed purely commercially motivated,” it said. “Far from the case, we assure you.”

• Amy Winehouse’s parents join fans as autopsy proves inconclusive

Microsoft is not the only company that has seemingly attempted to capitalise on the star’s death.

Apple posted an image of Winehouse on the front of the iTunes store with the caption “remembering Amy Winehouse”.

Her breakout album, the Grammy winning Back to Black, has subsequently become the No.1 album in the store.

Amazon also posted a brief obituary that linked to a page where shoppers can buy the singer’s music.

Sales of Back to Black increased 37 times immediately after Winehouse’s death.

Mashable.com is the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on social media news.

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