March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, may introduce a mobile phone as the company seeks to tap a market of 2 billion mobile users, an analyst said.

A Google phone would encourage more people to use services such as Internet search, e-mail, maps and instant messaging, Marianne Wolk, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said this week in a note to clients, citing online reports.

The Mountain View, California-based company would likely work with a partner to manufacture the phone, Wolk said in the March 14 note. The Spanish news site Noticias.com this week reported Google is working on a phone, citing the head of Google's unit in Spain. The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site today that Google is developing mobile phone software, citing people familiar with the matter.

``Mobile is an important area for Google and we remain focused on creating applications and establishing and growing partnerships with industry leaders to develop innovative services for users worldwide,'' the company said in an e-mailed statement. ``However, we have nothing further to announce.''

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Google fell $5.34 to $440.85 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have fallen 4.3 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Thaw in San Francisco at jthaw@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 16, 2007 21:09 EDT