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The two prominent Internet companies announced an advertising partnership Monday that aims to put buyers in touch with a wider variety of sellers, such as the neighborhood exterminator, math tutor or roofer.

Google Inc. will begin selling advertising on Web auction leader eBay and help buyers quickly ring an online merchant to do business.

' The arrangement announced Monday promises to introduce "clickto-call" Web site technology to a broader audience and potentially speed its adoption as a means to more quickly connect online consumers with advertisers.

' Under the arrangement, Google would provide search results whenever an eBay member typed in a search term that failed to find any matches on eBay's vast auction site.

' Although eBay lists millions of physical, shippable goods, such as antique airplanes and used cloth diapers, the company has long struggled to sign up service providers people who sell their labor or intellect, not their physical wares.

' Nikesh Arora, head of Google's European operations, said: "We believe the future of the whole internet space is going to hinge on great partnerships formed between like-minded companies."

' He said Google was keen to develop different forms of communication with its customers and to find new ways to "monetise" advertising in cyberspace.

' Whenever a potential bidder seeks a product on eBay, Google will use its search expertise to come up with relevant promotional links. To make the links more lucrative, the two companies will collaborate on so-called "click-to-call" advertising, which allows shoppers to talk to vendors at the touch of a button.

' The deal involves an undisclosed element of revenue sharing. The "click-to-call" element pools the resources of eBay's online phone service, Skype, with rival Google Talk. Low-cost internet calling is rapidly taking off. Skype says it has 100m accounts worldwide and is adding 200,000 a day.

' Alex Kazim, Skype chief executive, said: "We've had a long-standing relationship with Google and we're excited about the prospects for extending it. It's really common on net space to have companies collaborate in areas in which they overlap."

' "We have a chance to create a whole new way for buyers and sellers to connect online and to create what we hope will be a significant revenue stream for both eBay and Google," eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said.

' Google is widely viewed as the most successful advertising-funded internet company. Its US rival Yahoo suffered a significant setback last month when a new advertising technology platform was delayed, sending its shares into freefall. Yahoo hoped its new system would more accurately match advertising links to customers' searches and queries, winning back ground in its tussle with Google.