Google.com pushes Firefox browser

Mozilla's Firefox is getting promoted on one of the world's most popular Web pages, Google.com, as the open-source browser continues its David-vs.-Goliath battle against Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Free IT resource Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage. Sponsored by HP Free IT resource Attend the SOA Executive Forum: Breaking SOA Bottlenecks SOAExecForum.com/may2007 Sponsored by InfoWorld

The Firefox promotion is being billed by some bloggers as the first time Google has hawked a third-party product on its famously minimalistic home page, but that claim isn't completely accurate, a Google spokeswoman said.

"We have promoted several Google products that were bundled in some way with third-party products or content such as the Google Pack and Google Video content from the NBA and CBS," she said.

Google Pack is a free, downloadable software suite that Google distributes and that includes products from Google and other vendors. Google Video is the company's video search service, which features content obtained via special arrangements with third-parties.

The promotion is an extension of the referrals program for Firefox that Google launched through its AdSense advertising platform last year, the spokeswoman said.

The move follows a group of self-titled "political activists" in Massachusetts starting a campaign to destroy Internet Explorer by getting Web surfers to switch from it to Firefox.

The campaign, called Explorer Destroyer, takes advantage of the referral program, which Google pays users $1 for each referral to Firefox made through Google Toolbar, according to the group's Web site.

This Google.com promotion is for Firefox with the Google Toolbar, and Google's motivation is that Firefox features such as tabbed browsing and security capabilities "help provide our users with a great search experience," she said.

At press time, about 2.30 p.m. eastern time, the new Firefox ad on Google.com apparently had stopped appearing, a informal survey of users located in different parts of the U.S. found.

The Google spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about how long the promotion is scheduled to run and whether it's being targeted to all Google.com visitors.

The ad appears below the Google.com search box with the text "Firefox with Google Toolbar: tabbed browsing, safer surfing" and a snapshot of the Google Toolbar in Firefox.