SAN FRANCISCO - ONE-time Microsoft adversary Sun Microsystems said on Monday it will promote the US software giant's Internet search service in its widely-used Java program.

Sun is offering an Internet Explorer browser tool bar featuring Microsoft Live Search to US computer users that download or update Java software needed to view many websites.

Java is listed among the most-downloaded software and versions of it are said to be on more than 90 per cent of the world's computers.

'This agreement with Sun Microsystems is another important milestone in our strategy to secure broad-scale distribution for our search offering,' said Microsoft Online Audience Business vice-president Yusuf Mehdi.

'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.'

Sun and Microsoft have been in a series of technology alliances since 2004, when the firms vowed to work together as part of a US$1.6 billion (S$2.4 billion) deal to resolve patent and antitrust litigation filed by Sun.

Sun first sued Microsoft in 1997 on the grounds that the Redmond, Washington-based firm was taking liberties with the California company's Java software.

The deal announced on Monday will let people downloading Java software also install an MSN Toolbar that provides 'one-click access' to Live Search.

'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,' said Sun vice-president of software Rich Green.

Microsoft has been struggling to attract users to its Internet search engine, which has languished in distant third place in a market dominated by Google.

Microsoft had hoped to better battle Google by acquiring second-place Yahoo and merging online resources, but bid talks failed in May. -- AFP