While Google was busy trying to have its advertising deal with Yahoo approved, it appears Microsoft was busy luring away the search giant's potential partners.

Microsoft is now in discussions with Verizon to put its search service and related advertising on all of Verizon's phones, potentially stealing away a deal Google had worked on for months.

Microsoft is offering Verizon a larger share of revenue and guaranteed higher payments than Google, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google already has a strong presence in mobile search, thanks largely to Apple's iPhone and Google's new G1 Android phone, which runs on T-Mobile's wireless network. Google is also the default search provider for Sprint wireless devices.

Competitor AT&T uses Yahoo search. Verizon does not currently have an outside partnership for mobile web searches.