Google expands mobile ads test

Google Inc. has expanded to several additional countries a test to provide ads for mobile devices, as the search engine giant attempts to extend its vibrant advertising business into the realm of cell phones.

The test, which began in August, was available in the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Japan, and now it has been extended to France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Ireland, India and Australia, a Google spokeswoman said via e-mail.

These text-based ads appear along with search results delivered to mobile devices, and they contain either a link to a mobile Web site or a phone number which users can click on to generate a call. In the U.S., companies can choose specific carriers for their ads.

Google’s rivals, like Yahoo Inc., are busy launching mobile ad programs because they consider this a new frontier in online advertising, as more people worldwide access Web sites and Internet services from their cell phones.

More information about Google’s mobile ads program can be found here .

Meanwhile, a Google employee disclosed in his personal blog on Tuesday that the company has begun adding click-to-call functionality to U.S. business listings that appear on Google Maps.

Users who click on the “call” link will be asked to enter their phone number, and Google will initiate the call with the business in question. The service is free to Maps users.

“No microphone, no software needed: it uses your existing phone. Your phone number will also be saved so that you won’t need to enter it again the next time,” Justin Uberti wrote in his blog, who joined Google last month after 10 years at AOL LLC.

Google has made no secret about its efforts in the click-to-call ad format, which include a collaboration with eBay Inc.

Google didn’t reply to a request for comment regarding Uberti’s blog post.