Yahoo will now provide search services on O2 Germany?s mobile portals, displacing Google as the carrier?s search partner.

O2?s portals will include links to some of Yahoo?s most popular mobile properties including its mobile homepage, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance, Flickr and Yahoo Eurosport. This deal will let German marketers reach highly engaged mobile consumers, as Yahoo will now be powering the mobile advertising within the O2 mobile search experience.

?Today?s partnership continues Yahoo!?s track record of providing partners with one of the industry?s leading mobile search services,? said Mitch Lazar, managing director, Yahoo Mobile Europe. ?O2 Germany and Yahoo have tightly integrated a variety of Yahoo services into the portals, making it easy for consumers to discover, stay connected and stay informed on their mobile device.

?This partnership builds on the 2007 agreement with Telefónica to power the mobile search experience and for Yahoo to provide several other mobile services in 15 countries across Europe and Latin America,? he said. 

O2?s 15 million German users now have the ability to access to Yahoo?s mobile-optimized search experience, which is specifically designed to provide relevant and easily accessible answers for users on the go.

As part of this, Yahoo will provide sponsored search mobile advertising within the mobile search experience.

Yahoo continues to try and land search deals with carriers to solidify its role as the preferred mobile partner worldwide.

?The partnership with O2 Germany enables Yahoo to connect more consumers to the content and services they care about, ultimately helping us further our reach and grow our mobile audience,? Mr. Lazar said.

In addition, it is important to note that this partnership is more than just search and includes links to important Yahoo services from O2 Germany?s portals.

Carriers like O2 obviously see value in partnering with Yahoo ? the partnership is highly beneficial to both parties as they look to grow mobile Internet usage in Germany and make the mobile Web an essential part of consumers' lives. 

?As you know, mobile search is different than PC search,? Mr. Lazar said. ?Consumers do not need 10 blue hyperlinks on mobile,? he said. ?What they need ? and what Yahoo delivers ? is a truly differentiated mobile search experience.?

The integration of Yahoo?s other content and services into the O2 Germany portals is highly important as the company is able to provide consumers with easy access to its online services optimized for mobile.

?One of the impediments of mobile Internet is that it can sometimes be hard to discover,? Mr. Lazar said. ?By making Yahoo services front and center, we?re simplifying the mobile Internet experience and increasing consumers? ability to discover Internet services, while providing news and informational content to further drive increased engagement and usage."