Now, Google it on Airtel phones

Bharti Airtel and Google today announced a strategic partnership to offer mobile search.

According to a release issued by Bharti to the BSE today, Airtel will bring Google search to the Airtel Live mobile WAP portal. "Google will also incorporate advertising through its Mobile Ads product on the Airtel Live mobile portal," the release added.

"Google will power searches on Airtel Live in two areas - on net (rich content on Airtel Live) and off net (Internet on Mobile). Airtel Live has over 50,000 exclusive pieces of content including information like news, stock ticker and sports scores and downloadable content like games, music, video clips and wall papers," the release added.

Google will also incorporate Mobile Ads, which are text advertisements based on search terms that would be displayed alongside search results on the Airtel Live mobile portal. This will enable advertisers to reach targeted users with their products and services on a cost-per-click basis, the release said.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, VP(Asia Pacific & Latin America operations) of Google, said: "By providing immediate access to Google, Airtel is creating a compelling experience for its users, who will now be able to quickly and easily find information that's important to them."