The move marks a strategic shift for Japan's largest wireless operator by seeking a partner, as the firm has been lagging behind much smaller rivals in luring new subscribers in recent months.

For Google, the alliance will provide access to DoCoMo's 48 million users of "i-mode" mobile phone Internet service as it tries to expand its presence in Japan, where Yahoo Japan leads the Web search market.

The alliance may eventually lead to the development of new functions and handsets, the sources said.

As of 0409 GMT, shares of DoCoMo were up 3.3 percent to 190,000 yen by mid-morning, outperforming a 1.6 percent gain by the benchmark Nikkei average

"We are currently studying the possibility of an alliance in search services with domestic or overseas partners, but nothing has been decided yet," DoCoMo spokesman Hiroto Nakagawa said.

Starting as early as spring, users will be able to access Goolge searches, email, scheduling and photo-saving features through DoCoMo's i-mode network service, the Nikkei business daily said.

While rival KDDI has already been working with Google in search and email on its mobile phones, DoCoMo eyes deeper ties in services and technology with the U.S. firm, including development of next generation handset featuring Google's operating system, the Nikkei said.

DoCoMo, which controls over half of Japan's mobile market, has been losing its market share amid a fierce price war.

By: DocMemory
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