NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile carrier, is partnering with Google to offer search and e-mail on its handsets, according to news reports.

DoCoMo subscribers could have access to Google’s search tool, Gmail e-mail service, Picasa photo-sharing software, and Google Calendar application early next year via DoCoMo’s i-Mode network, according to Reuters.

The report cited unnamed sources, and Google and DoCoMo could not immediately be reached for comment. However, according to Japan’s main business daily, The Nikkei, DoCoMo is hoping to set up a closer relationship with Google than its growing competitors.

Last month, DoCoMo joined the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 companies that have pledged to work with Google and its Android platform.

Google vs. Yahoo

Yahoo has inked several mobile services deals in Asia, but whether Google and DoCoMo partner, it could be a major coup for both companies.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research described the rumored deal as one more win for

Google and another opportunity for the search titan to get its services and subject matter into an urgent mobile market.

Google would gain access to DoCoMo’s 49 million users of its i-Mode mobile phone Web service in a market where Yahoo leads the pack.

“What we are seeing is that it’s not an issue of dominance on the mobile platform,” Gartenberg said, noting that Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google all are making significant inroads onto mobile handsets. “It’s an issue about many strong players each trying to grow stronger.”

He said the mobile world has not turned into a winner-take-all scenario like PC desktops. “In 2008,” he concluded, “we’ll see different players try to break away from the crowd.”

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