Infospace improves search for Virgins

US BASED Infospace will be supplying the technology behind a comprehensive search facility which subscribers to the Virgin Mobile network will use to find content and services.

Mobile Virgins will have the ability to search the web, WAP sites and Virgin Mobile's own portal and storefront to gain access to ringtones, games and other desirable content.

Virgin Mobile is almost certainly the world's most successful Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and in the UK has more customers than fifth operator, 3.

Infospace is claiming that power behind its offering is its 'Fast' search software, relevancy algorithms, crawling and indexing. It is also working in conjunction with Infogin's web-to-mobile conversion technology.

The crucial point is that instead of putting the Google, Yahoo. Ask or MSN brand on the subscriber's screen, Virgin Mobile subscribers will merely see the results of multiple searches.

Typically Nick White from Virgin Mobile has declared that mobile search is the next killer application. The INQ itself would moderate this and say that location based search is probably the real killer app.

And guess what? Infospace has supplied Sprint with what it claims was the world's first location based search service. Now there's a surprise. µ

L'INQ
Infospace