With the explosion of widgets across the web, it's little wonder that there is now a widget ad network. Enter Clearspring Technologies, which announced plans to launch its network for distributing widgets.

Clearspring, which developed its platform with Adify's Build Your Own Network solution, will sell widget ads for Virgin Mobile, Blockbuster Online, Lionsgate Films and The Learning Channel. To help achieve reach, Clearspring has teamed up with a slew of publishers, including Fox TV, Twentieth Century Fox Television, The Huffington Post and the National Hockey League. 

According to Clearsping, it is the first widget network to give advertisers access to independent sites. Earlier this year, Facebook created a frenzy in the widget world when it opened up its platform to third party developers. However, those widgets were limited to the confines of the Facebook network.

"If an advertiser wants to get their message beyond just Facebook, then Clearspring is the way to do that," Peggy Fry, the company's SVP, told Reuters.

Getting beyond Facebook with widgets may be more lucrative than many realize. According to recent information from comScore, widgets now reach about 178 million web users around the world.