Siemens has announced a search engine function to work with all mobile Web standards, whether WAP, i-mode or UMTS.

The new system, according to the company, allows mobile users to reach a desired site in 50 percent to 70 percent less time than using a conventional search function. It says a user who enters the names 'Lufthansa' or 'Amazon', for example, will be sent directly to those companies' Web sites.

The system, says the company, works intuitively and has an automatic correction function to deal with typos. The company notes that users entering the words "weater" or "weat", for example, are asked by the system if "weather" was meant instead. It also notes that numbers can be entered too, as is the case with text messages. It says that instead of the word 'sport', for example, the user can type in the corresponding number once, which makes the cell phone's small keys much easier to use.

The new search engine, according to Siemens, offers network operators other ways of optimizing their range of offerings. It says the software's comprehensive statistical program, which operates in the background, can track the 20 most frequently used search terms, and providers can place these terms in a prominent position, increasing the number of hits.

Siemens says the search function is already in use by cell phone operators throughout Europe serving a total of about 75 million customers.

The function was developed by MotionBridge, a French start-up company funded by Siemens Mobile Acceleration (SMAC).