Microsoft search engine going mobile

Seattle PI | at | by Mike

Research In Motion Ltd. agreed to put Microsoft's Internet search engine on BlackBerrys, giving the software maker a foothold on the top-selling e-mail phone in the U.S.

Microsoft's Live Search will be available on BlackBerrys this year, the companies said Thursday in an e-mailed statement. BlackBerry customers can use the search engine to find nearby businesses and attractions.

The deal may help Microsoft prevent competitors Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. from staking out a dominant share of mobile-phone searches, a market projected to increase almost tenfold over the next three years. This week, AT&T Inc. said it chose Yahoo as its default search engine for handsets.