Google just happens to be the default search option for users of Mozilla"s Firefox browser. However the agreement between the two companies that allowed Google to be Firefox"s main search service actually ended on November 30. Now PCMag.com reports that Google and Mozilla are in talks to extend that search agreement.
For its part, A Google spokesperson said that " ... we still have an agreement with Mozilla, but have nothing new to share at this time." Mozilla"s spokesperson also said that the company is in "active negotiations" with Google but also didn"t have anything else to announce. Mozilla"s spokesperson did say, "Our search relationship with Google remains positive for both of us. We have every confidence that search partnerships will continue to be a strong and growing generator of revenue for the foreseeable future."
If Mozilla cannot reach an extension on its current Firefox search deal with Google it could have massive implications for Mozilla. In a recent report, Mozilla admitted that it gets a whopping 84 percent of royalty revenues from its agreement with Google.
Perhaps in anticipation of seeing its Google search contract shut down, Mozilla launched a new donation page on its web site asking people to chip in to support the development of the free Firefox web browser.
Google, of course, has its own Chrome web browser which, according to one source, has now overtaken Firefox as the world"s second most popular browser (behind Microsoft"s Internet Explorer).