Google Inc said yesterday it had clinched a deal with China Mobile Ltd to tap the nation's emerging mobile search market.

Under the agreement, Google will build its search engine into China Mobile's "monternet" mobile platform to provide search services of content available on the platform such as news, ringtones, wallpaper, videos and games.

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"Our cooperation with China Mobile will help achieve Google's mission of making information available anytime, anywhere," said Lee Kai-fu, Google's vice-president, at a press briefing in Beijing.

In China, Google is a distant second in search behind market leader Baidu.com, whose market share is three times larger than Google's.

China Mobile, which has cut its charges in recent years, is desperate to find new revenue sources other than its traditional services.

Although Google declined to disclose any details of the deal, Lee said its cooperation with China Mobile was just the beginning.

A worker wipes a China Mobile billboard in Shanghai. [China Daily]

"From Google's earlier experience in the global market, our next step in cooperating with telecom carriers usually focuses on making possible the traditional Internet search services on common mobile phones."

Google has formed partnerships with many telecom carriers such as Vodafone in Europe, KDDI in Japan, Bharti Airtel in India and Sprint in the United States.

Last month, the company signed an agreement with Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd, the largest telecom carrier in Taiwan Province, to provide a search engine on its "emome" mobile platform.

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