Yahoo to Power Search for Telefonica Mobile Phones

Yahoo Inc. on Thursday expanded its reach into the mobile search market by landing a deal with Spanish phone giant Telefonica Espana.

Telefonica Espana will use Yahoo's search service for the emocion portal on its mobile phones. Yahoo also will handle sponsored search advertising functions.

Through Yahoo, Telefonica customers in Spain will be able to access news, weather, photos, Web sites and other information.

"Our emocion portal brings the Web to consumers' pockets. A great mobile search service is a crucial part of that experience," said Elisa Caballero, a general manager at Telefonica Espana, in a statement.

The deal expands an earlier arrangement Yahoo had with Telefonica Espana that began in October 2007, in which Yahoo would power mobile search in 15 Latin American and European nations not including Spain or Germany.

p>In November, Yahoo entered the German market by landing a mobile search deal with cell phone operator O2 in Germany, which is owned by Telefonica Espana.

Shares of Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., fell 2 cents to $16.48 in afternoon trading.