Yahoo lands on 3’s deck

Yahoo’s mobile services went global today with a new agreement with the 3 Group, which will load the content provider’s Web portal, e-mail and instant messaging services onto its deck in all of its markets.

Hutchison Whampoa-owned 3 runs UMTS-only networks in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the U.K. The first Yahoo services will go live in the U.K. this summer, followed by launches in its European and Asia-Pacific markets.

Yahoo already has a significant presence on other carrier decks in the U.S., including a deal with Cingular that allows customers to emulate the AT&T-Yahoo broadband portal on their mobile phones. But Yahoo said today’s announcement is the first partnership between itself and an international 3G operator, potentially opening the door to a much broader proliferation of its wireless content.

The 3 operators will operate and market together Yahoo search, Web, instant messaging, e-mail and navigation services, adding on additional services in the future.