Lenovo agrees to pre-load Microsoft's Web toolbar

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft reached an agreement with Lenovo Group to pre-load Lenovo computers with a toolbar of Microsoft's Windows Live online services including Web search, the two companies said on Tuesday.

The agreement between Lenovo, the world's third-largest PC maker, and Microsoft, replaces a similar deal the Chinese computer maker had with Google Inc. to pre-load the Web search leader's toolbar on its desktop and notebook computers.

The agreement will set live.com, Microsoft's customisable news, information and search engine site, as the default homepage for Lenovo PC users and add a Windows toolbar inside the PC's Internet Explorer browser.

Users will be able to change the settings, but many people tend not to change default settings. The agreement aims to increase traffic to Microsoft's Web services at a time when Google's search engine has become a first-stop for many Web visitors.

Google's commanding lead in the Web search lures more advertisers and money to its query results. Microsoft's Windows Live search ranks third behind Google and Yahoo with a 11 percent market share, according to data from research firm conScore Networks.

Lenovo, which bought International Business Machines Corp.'s PC unit in 2005, is the first computer manufacturer to strike an agreement with Windows Live.