Web search pact likely to get Yahoo!'s goat...

Google has won a highly prized deal with MySpace.com to serve web search and advertising listings to the nearly 100 million members of the News Corp-owned social network, besting rival Yahoo! in the bid.

On Monday, MySpace parent company Fox Interactive Media said it had entered into a pact with Google that spans three years and nine months and gives the search giant exclusive rights to provide web search results and sponsored links across MySpace. Google will also power search and ads for other Fox Interactive properties including RottenTomatoes.com and Scout.com. FoxSports, which is aligned with Microsoft's MSN, is not part of the deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, which will begin in the fourth quarter, Google must guarantee Fox Interactive minimum payments of $900m over three years, as long as Fox meets certain traffic and other commitments.

The deal is a blow to Yahoo! given that MySpace's advertising results have long been served up by Yahoo!'s search division. The agreement also ends a months-long hunt by MySpace for a new partner, a quest driven by growing demand among its members for web search.

On an investor conference call on Monday, News Corp president Peter Chernin characterised the deal as the first of many with Google and said that when MySpace members leave the site they typically jump to the search powerhouse. By integrating Google's technology, search will be seamless for MySpace members, he said.

Referring to a highly competitive bid for the business that included Yahoo! and all the top-tier search providers, Chernin added: "Ultimately, in the totality of the deal, Google was the preferred supplier."

Full story: silicon.com