Verizon is in talks with Google that could make the search king its preferred mobile search engine, according to a report on Friday.

The deal comes after war brewed between the two since Google began lobbying the U.S. government two years ago to break the control carriers have over third-party access to subscribers.

The discussions, reported by The Wall Street Journal, mark a coup for Google in its battle with Yahoo for mobile search. Yahoo, which has not lobbied to break carriers' customer control, holds a significant lead with more than 60 carrier deals compared with Google's 40.

What's at stake for both search companies and carriers is mobile advertising revenue.

Carriers have come under pressure to increase revenue. That's because prices on mobile voice, not to mention mobile market saturation, have become increasingly competitive. The rise in popularity of smartphones, which boosts mobile Internet search, and data are seen as one new stream.

This is bringing carriers to the table to carve out search arrangements with the likes of Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

“It's a quid pro quo, the search company gets beach front property on the phone and the carriers get an attractive application from the likes of Google,  which can exercise its search algorithms to optimize ad revenues,” said Joe Nordgaard, director of wireless consulting firm Spectral Advantage.

How much benefit Google gets out of the deal if it happens will depend on its terms, exclusivity, and duration.

“Exclusivity is essential, and if the contract is long it gives the search company much-needed breathing room,” said Sameer Mithal, senior principal at IBB Consulting.

Mobile data generated about 20 percent of worldwide mobile revenue in the first quarter of 2008, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. Messaging standards SMS and MMS were responsible for 70 percent of that.

Research firm SNL Kagan expects U.S. mobile data revenue to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent from $24 billion in 2007 to $100 billion in 2017. By comparison, total wireless revenue is expected to grow by just 5 percent for the same period.