Yahoo on Tuesday announced seven deals with mobile operators in the Asia Pacific region that could give it a significant early advantage over rivals Google and Microsoft. 

Five of the deals involve mobile search and two involve mobile advertising. Despite its well-documented distractions and its perennial also-ran status in PC search, Yahoo is taking a very strong position in the mobile search world with 60 mobile search deals in the last 18 months.

In a deal announced in February Yahoo grabbed T-Mobile, one of Europe's major mobile prizes out of the clutches of rival Google. (see Yahoo Scores Search Victory over Google)

While mobile search is still in its infancy, the Asia Pacific deals give Yahoo preferred positioning as the search engine or the mobile advertising partner of choice in one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world.

"Depending on the level of exclusivity and the length of these contracts, these could be great deals for Yahoo," said Sameer Mithal, senior principal at IBB Consulting. "If the contracts are exclusive and long, they will give Yahoo some breathing room in these markets that are adding phenomenal numbers of new subscribers."

Yahoo did not divulge details about the contracts but deals of this nature usually involve an extended period of exclusivity.

The company said it signed mobile search deals with Mahanagar Telephon Nigam Ltd. of India, Hong Kong CSL Ltd., Smart Communications, and Digital Mobile Phlis, Inc. of the Philippines, and Vibo Telecom Inc. of Taiwan.

The search firm also signed mobile advertising partnerships with Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia, and Idea Cellular Limited of India.

Unlike rival Google, Yahoo has had a long history of carrier partnerships dating back to its Internet portal arrangements with both Verizon and AT&T.

Google has more than two dozen mobile carrier partners but in the last year the firm may have provoked some ill will among carriers because of its lobbying effort for open mobile networks and its participation in a recent spectrum auction.

Yahoo's oneSearch, its mobile search application, will get premier positioning among its carriers as the "on-deck" search engine.

"It's easy to underestimate the power of that kind of on-deck real estate, but after a few years as the exclusive on-deck search engine Yahoo can become very entrenched in Asia," said Mr. Mithal.

Yahoo now has twenty-three mobile search/carrier deals in the Asia Pacific region.