After sparring off and on over wireless spectrum last year, Google and Verizon Wireless are close to a deal that would make Google the default search engine on Verizon phones, says the WSJ. The match-up makes sense. Carriers are betting big on the mobile Web and placing a Google search bar on the screen of its phones should encourage people to log on from their phones. There's also some "enemy of my enemy" logic: Verizon rival AT&T already has a pact with Google rival Yahoo!

More interesting is what other alliances could follow, such as Verizon support for Google's Android project.