"We are running a test with Google that includes a Google-powered Dell home page, Google desktop search, and Google toolbar," said Dell spokesman Ben Kaufman. "We are testing our products with some of those functions and determining how they are benefiting our customers."

Rumors of a Dell-Google alliance first surfaced in January when the search giant produced a personalizable, co-branded home page; that page included modules for Dell product information and Dell customer service, as well as the other typical features found on the Google personalized home page. The home page, kept largely under wraps, was first uncovered by a German blogger, Philipp Lenssen.

According to search expert Gary Stein, Google's move onto desktop will likely unsettle Microsoft, which is still trying to gain market share in search. "They're seeing Google seep into more and more cracks in the computing landscape. Google's mission isn't to organize the world's information, it's to organize your access to the world's information, and that's a threat to Microsoft," he said. "Every day, Google gets a little bit closer to the consumer."

So far, Microsoft has been viewed as a potential threat to Google because Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominates the computer market. If Microsoft eventually integrates its own search engine into Explorer, consumers might start using Microsoft search by default, which could cut into Google's share of searches. For that reason, some industry observers have predicted that Google will either start marketing its own browser, or partner with a company like Mozilla, which maintains the Firefox browser.

Stein said that Google's rationale for providing free software on Dell PCs is to drive consumers to their already monetized properties. "They're not monetized properties, they're properties with the opportunity to monetize," he said. "Under that scenario, you have to generate as much traffic as possible."

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