InfoSpace nets search deal with U.K.’s Virgin

Virgin Mobile in the United Kingdom said it as has tapped InfoSpace Inc. to provide a suite of mobile search and Internet services.
InfoSpace said it will power a mobile search offering for the United Kingdom’s largest mobile virtual network operator, allowing users to look for content and information through a single search box. The offering will feature a Web-to-mobile content adaptation service from InfoSpace partner InfoGin, an Israel-based developer of transcoding technology.
The pact builds on a 6-year-old relationship between the two companies.
“If the impact of the Internet on our daily lives, as well as the global economy, as taught the mobile world anything, it is that it’s no longer about searching for the next killer application-search itself is the killer application,” said Virgin Mobile executive Nick White. “Virgin Mobile is a firm believer that there should be no limit to the content available for our users-from the latest celeb gossip to searches for entertainment in the local area or even the most cryptic piece of trivia-it must be available to everyone, everywhere.”
Shares of InfoSpace dipped slightly on the news, losing 32 cents, or a little more than 1%, to $24.40. But the stock had gained steady ground in the last week thanks to rumors of a $1 billion takeover by Spanish mobile content titan LaNetro Zed.