Google spending hundreds of millions on mobile: WSJ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc (GOOG.O) has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its cell phone project and is courting U.S. and European mobile operators, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Anian, a Reuters company that tracks industry trends for institutional investors, reported last month that Google had engaged Taiwan's High Tech Computer (2498.TW) to design a Linux software-based phone for launch in the first quarter of 2008.

The Anian report cited industry sources as saying T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), would likely be Google's U.S. partner with France Telecom's (FTE.PA) Orange selling the phones in other markets.

The Journal said on Thursday Google had also approached the two biggest U.S. wireless services, AT&T (T.N) and Verizon Wireless, in recent months to ask them to sell phones with Google service.

It cited a Verizon Wireless executive saying the company had decided not to integrate Google's Web search tightly into its phones because of Google's advertising revenue-sharing demands. The newspaper said the executive had not commented on a Google phone.

A person familiar with the situation told Reuters that talks between Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group (VOD.L), and Google have ended without resulting in an agreement.

Representatives for Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T declined to comment.

T-Mobile and Vodafone already incorporate Google search in their mobile Web service in Europe, while AT&T offers it as one of several Web search options.

"We talk to a lot of different companies and we're not going to comment on our discussions with any of them," said Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman.