Microsoft Bing wins key slots in Google's EU search auction

London, Sep 29 Microsoft's Bing may appear as a download prompt on new Android smartphones in several countries such as Germany, Sweden, Spain, Britain, France, among others, after winning some key slots in Google's search auction.

Bing won slots in 13 countries, according to the results of the auction announced by Google on Tuesday.

Among other firms, search engine info.com won slots on a choice screen for new Android phones in all 31 countries, PrivacyWall won slots in 22 countries, and GMX in 16 countries, MediaPost reported.

The privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo won eight slots in smaller markets, while the Russian search engine Yandex won slots in eight countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, the Republic of Cypress, and Romania.

The final set of providers may not reflect all the winners in each country as the rules give Search providers the option to withdraw in nations where they have won a given auction.

In 2018, the EU accused Google of abusing its dominance over mobile search through its Android operating system and ordered it to mend its ways.

New Android phone users in the EU are now prompted to choose between Google and several other search engines.

( With inputs from IANS )