Following in the footsteps of Google and Yahoo!, Microsoft has just secured a deal with Nokia, the world’s number one mobile phone manufacturer.

The new deal will see Microsoft’s Live Search offered in Nokia’s Mobile Search platform across their top end N-Series multimedia and S60 phones.

This deal is more than just a win for Microsoft on the mobile search front. The alignment of their Live Search with the world’s top mobile phone manufacturer will be important for building “Live” brand awareness.

Nokia users who search for information using the in built search service, will experience the Microsoft Live advanced search results, as well as access to information such as stock quotes and movie times. However if users choose to user the phone’s internet browser, they can select the search engine of their choice.

What I am keen to find out, is what happened to the Yahoo! deal announced earlier this year. Yahoo! had signed a deal with Nokia to provide the Yahoo! Go service across the same range of Nokia handsets.

In reviewing the press releases for both deals, there appears to be no clear definitions outlined that separate them. The only difference is that the Yahoo! deal refers to everywhere except the United States. So, potentially this latest Microsoft deal covers US based Nokia phones.

Either way, it is an important deal for Microsoft Live as it tries to establish itself in the mobile search market. It will be more of a coup if they have replaced Yahoo! as the preferred option, but I think it actually covers a different geographical market.