Microsoft has struck a deal with mobile phone handset manufacturer Motorola, which will see a search widget and bookmark for its search engine Bing added to Android-based phones.
Bing will first appear as an option on Motorola's Chinese phones, giving users the chance to set Bing as their default search engine. Motorola has already allowed users in this market to ditch Google in favour of Chinese search engine Baidu.
The deal is particularly significant for two reasons. Firstly, a significant amount of the Android open-source operating system was developed by Google. Secondly, Motorola has agreed to install Bing at a time when Google is in dispute with China over censorship issues – if Google withdrew from the country, it could cause problems for the mobile phone company.
As we reported yesterday, Bing has just launched a major UK advertising campaign. Getting featured on mobile handsets is clearly another strand of its campaign to eat into Google's market share.
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