Yahoo's oneSearch is now Virgin Media's exclusive on-deck mobile search service.

The new Virgin Media mobile portal will be available to consumers Dec. 8. Additionally, Yahoo and Virgin Media plan to deliver mobile sponsored search results and contextually served sponsored listings within the Virgin Media mobile portal in early 2009.

"On the PC we have an actively engaged audience and a well-known online brand," said Cory Pforzheimer spokesman for Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. "Given the fact that the No. of mobile phones is greater than the number of PCs, we are focusing on connecting consumers using our mobile services.

"The Virgin Media partnership will help us achieve that as it further strengthens our position in Britain," he said. "We now power mobile search for 80 percent of mobile phone subscribers in Britain, since we also have similar deals with T0Mobile UK, O2, 3.

Yahoo's oneSearch product lets consumers get fast relevant answers whenever they need them.

OneSearch understands the user's intent and remembers their location, giving answers, tailored to where the user is. Additionally, the search results are on one page -- conveniently grouped into meaningful categories.

Yahoo also powers mobile display ads for Vodafone, T-Mobile and 3's wireless portal in Britain.

The online giant has more than 70 mobile search partnerships with carriers globally, representing over 850 million mobile subscribers under carrier contract.

In the United States, Yahoo oneSearch recently launched as the exclusive search experience on AT&T's MEdia Net and T-Mobile's Web2go.

Yahoo oneSearch is designed specifically for the mobile user, returning results directly in the first screen and helping consumers find the information they want.

For instance, when a search for a football team is entered, Yahoo oneSearch returns the latest scores, fixtures, team profiles, news, images and a link to the team's Web site.

Alternatively, if a user searches for a film, Yahoo returns showing times at local cinemas, reviews, news articles and information on the cast.

Yahoo oneSearch will provide Virgin Media's mobile consumers with information on news, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr photos, lottery results, Web and mobile Web sites, travel information, and integrated information from Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers.

Yahoo oneSearch will also display relevant ringtones, wallpapers, games and other content within search results.

Virgin Media and Yahoo plan to deliver mobile sponsored search results and contextually served sponsored listings within the Virgin Media mobile portal early 2009.

The search engine's focus is to create a "monetization engine" for the mobile Internet, Mr. Pforzheimer said.

"In the past consumer found mobile search frustrating, as it displayed millions of links to irrelevant Web pages," Mr. Pforzheimer said. "Our oneSearch product is designed to meet the consumer's mobile needs.

"OneSearch is a starting point for consumers when they begin the Internet experience," he said. "From a consumer experience, the carrier portal is the starting point for an Internet experience, hence the recent partnerships.

"As for mobile search advertising, advertisers want to be where the consumers are and we are building up the number of people who use our service to find what they are looking for on the mobile Web. We will monetize against this large audience and provide advertisers with a highly engaged consumer base."