We investigate the UV-induced desorption of O-2 from a reduced TiO2 rutile surface. The desorption mechanism considered is a direct, optical excitation of the adsorbate-substrate complex. The low-lying excited electronic states of the adsorbate-surface system and the transition dipole moments are calculated with a cluster model. We also estimate the effects of nonadiabatic coupling on the desorption yield. As a consequence of the localized nature of the adsorption process, ground state properties calculated with the cluster model agree well with previous results obtained with a slab model. To reduce the size of the calculation, we use optimal orbitals for each of the interacting electronic states, followed by transformation to biorthonormal orbital sets. Comparison with experimental photodesorption cross-section data shows excellent agreement for photon energies close to the vertical transition energy. At higher energies, we speculate that substrate-mediated electronic excitation mechanisms must be included in the model. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.