In the constant quest to increase its foothold on the operating system market Microsoft announced a marriage between the Live Search-powered MSN Toolbar and the Java Runtime Environment. The Redmond company inked a distribution deal with Sun Microsystems. Per the agreement, Sun Microsystems' Java Runtime Environment (JRE) will come bundled with the MSN Toolbar starting November 10, 2008. 

"This agreement with Sun Microsystems is another important milestone in our strategy to secure broad-scale distribution for our search offering, enabling millions more people to experience the benefits of Live Search," indicated Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of the Online Audience Business at Microsoft. "With the vast array of Java software-based Web applications that are downloaded every month, this deal will expose Live Search to millions more Internet users and drive increased volume for our search advertisers."

Microsoft's partnership with Sun Microsystems is designed as a measure to push Live Search, and the software giant admitted that the end goal was to increase its search share. However, at least for the time being, the agreement is limited to the United States, and, furthermore, just to users of Internet Explorer. Essentially, users who download JRE will also have the MSN toolbar, optionally served to them. Microsoft failed to indicate whether the deal would be expanded worldwide.

"With over 800 million Java desktop users around the world, our goal is to provide Java users with compelling and immersive business and consumer solutions powered by Java technology and value-added solutions from world-class software partners," said Rich Green, executive vice president of Software at Sun Microsystems. "Our customers expect top-quality products when they choose to download technology from Sun, and we are confident that they will find great value in both Microsoft’s MSN toolbar and Live Search."