Adobe and Google tie up

SAN FRANCISCO - Adobe Systems said yesterday that Google had agreed to pay it a "significant" amount to distribute Google's web search software over several years.

Adobe said it had begun distributing Google search software with new downloads of Adobe's Macromedia Shockwave multimedia playback software, which lets users view interactive web programming such as games, entertainment, business presentations and advertisements using a web browser.

This and similar recent deals to pre-install Google software marks a change for the icon of web search, which historically has incurred little upfront cost to attract customers.

Shares of Google closed at US$402.13 on Nasdaq ahead of news of the Adobe deal - the first time Google has closed above US$400 since world stock markets began a slide in May.

- REUTERS