Google to remain default Firefox search engine for 3 years

29/08/2008

Search optimisation professionals may be interested to read that Google and Mozilla have extended their deal to make Google the default search engine in Firefox by another three years.

The agreement was originally scheduled to end in 2006 but was extended to 2008 and this has now been amended again to end in November 2011, according to TechCrunch.

In a blog post, Mozilla chairperson Mitchell Baker said the new extended deal will allow the company to benefit from "stability in income".

Originally, the deal was worth 85 per cent of Mozilla's total revenues - $57 million (£31.2 million) overall.

"We're very, very happy about our relationship with Google and this makes sure that Mozilla will be sustainable and thrive for quite a long time to come," Mozilla chief executive John Lilly told TechCrunch.

This comes after Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 was launched by Microsoft earlier this week, featuring improved search and the ability to view results from certain sites in visual format.