Microsoft Corp. has announced a new deal with Sun Microsystems Inc. that will help the Redmond-based software titan continue in its efforts to gnaw away at Google Inc’s dominance in the online search market.
Microsoft strikes MSN Toolbar deal with Sun Microsystems. Image: Microsoft.
Specifically, beginning this week, Microsoft’s MSN Toolbar will be included by default with Sun Microsystem’s popular Java software platform.
Microsoft’s latest push to improve the reach of its online search service, and in turn benefit from associated advertising dollars, is a minor triumph over Google as the agreement sees it picking up on the U.S. portion of a 2005 deal that bundled Java along with the Google Toolbar.
While it may later spread, the inclusion of Microsoft’s MSN Toolbar is currently only available to Internet Explorer users in the United States and will be offered as an installation option for those new to Java and also those accepting an update to their existing software.
Those Java users based outside of the U.S. will continue to have access to Java with the Google Toolbar, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Once installed, the MSN Toolbar will include an input field for Microsoft’s Live Search tool, which offers a cash-back incentive for those who purchase products found by using its search capabilities.
“This deal will expose Live Search to millions more Internet users and drive increased volume for our search advertisers,” said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of the Online Audience Business at Microsoft, in a statement.
The official unveiling of Microsoft’s search deal with Sun is only the latest example of the company’s ongoing efforts to haul back Google’s market share following the high-profile failure of its big-money bid for Internet giant Yahoo earlier this year.
In a similar deal, leading computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard has also agreed a deal that will see all of its new computers equipped with the MSN Toolbar from January of 2009. Lenovo has also agreed to preload a Microsoft toolbar with its computers.
Details regarding financial terms and the length of Microsoft’s agreement with Sun have not been divulged at this time. Neither has Sun revealed exactly why its U.S. deal with Google has come to an end.
According to Sun, its Java platform is installed on some 800 million PC systems worldwide, which equates to around 91 percent of all Internet-connected computers.
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