BusinessWeek has dived with both editorial feet into the controversial topic of online click-fraud, an issue sure to elicit strong opinions from the advertisers adversely affected by it and the ad networks who are responsible for policing it.

The centerpiece feature chronicles, predictably, the story of the unassuming small businessman who thought pay-per-click would be great for his business but then found himself the victim of click-fraud, costing him a bundle of cast. His ads were showing up on spam blogs and other sites that existed solely to generate ad income but which aren't legitimate sites in any real sense of the term. It also covers how Yahoo and Google are combating the problem even though they make millions of dollars from those fraudulent clicks.

The danger of click fraud is expanded upon in this extra piece that talks about "bots" that take over computers to send out fraudulent emails or register clicks on websites' ads despite the fact that the owner never visited that site.

The package is then given an international flavor in this story about click-fraud in China, where aggrieved business operators are suing the people they think are responsible for creating false clicks. The problem is that the only real evidence is site referrals, which are a a bit vague as hard evidence.

Finally, Stephen Baker adds a bit of perspective on the whole thing, saying the problem isn't quite as dire as the articles would make it out to be. Very real, yes, but the investigations into click-fraud will lead to better understanding and practices for the online advertising community.

All in all it's a very interesting package of stories and opinions that's definitely worth a read as you head into the weekend.