Vodafone on media tie-up spree

After signing deals with popular online services MySpace and eBay this week, Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC on Friday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Google's popular online video service YouTube to provide a service that will allow its mobile customers to view and upload videos to YouTube.

Under the deal, YouTube Mobile users will be able to view a selection of videos that is updated daily, forward their favorite links to friends, and upload their own videos directly from their phones.

The mobile YouTube service will initially focus UK market, while plans to launch the service in other European markets are on hand.

"People want to view and share favourite YouTube videos seamlessly wherever and whenever they want," said Steve Chen, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer for YouTube. "Partnering with Vodafone will accelerate those efforts to serve our loyal YouTube users as well as allow new mobile audiences to enjoy YouTube."

YouTube, the popular Web video sharing site that lets anyone store short videos for private or public viewing, has a similar offering in the U.S. where customers of Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless can all upload videos from their handsets.

The Internet search giant Google, Inc. has acquired the company for US$1.65 billion last year in October.

According to Frank H. Rövekamp, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone, their partnership with YouTube would further expand their range of Internet services the largest mobile telecommunications network company making available on the handheld devices.

"Through attracting the most popular internet brands onto Vodafone mobile devices we will continue to ensure our customers can access and share the best entertainment anytime and anywhere," H. Rövekamp said.

Earlier this week, the Newbury, England-based world's leading international mobile telecommunications group announced similar deals with New York-based News Corporation's MySpace and eBay to make their services available on Vodafone mobile phones.

The mobile YouTube service will be accessed through Vodafone Live Web portal currently available on 4.7 million handsets in Britain. The price details of YouTube Mobile, which will be available later in the year, have not yet been disclosed.

After signing a deal with networking Web site MySpace, on Wednesday, Vodafone has become the first European cell-phone carrier allowing its customers to access and update their MySpace pages from their handsets.

Initially starting in the U.K, the service enable Vodafone users to access MySpace Mobile, allowing them to edit their own MySpace profiles, find and add friends, post photos and blogs and send and receive MySpace messages from their mobile phones. MySpace has similar deals with AT&T Inc. and Helio LLC in the United States.

On Thursday, Vodafone announced a deal with online auction site eBay that will also make it the first to launch a new mobile service from eBay in Europe outside U.K. The service will initially be available for Italy Vodafone customers who would be able to download a free application in order to search for and buy items on eBay.

Vodafone expects to launch the service across its European markets later this year.