CYBERSPACE – As a boost to their existing distribution relationship with Firefox, Google gave some very high-profile ad space to promote the open source browser; specifically, a big chunk of the Google index page.Google’s index page is normally free of ads, entirely, although it has previously used index page space to promote Google products bundled with third-party products or promotion, including Google Video ads featuring clips from the NBA and CBS television shows. It is believed that this is the first time a third-party software program has been allotted ad space on the Google index page.

Google established its promotional relationship with Mozilla Corp., the for-profit subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, since last year, when Google started providing text ads to its affiliates for promoting Firefox bundled with the Google toolbar. Under the program, affiliates are paid a one dollar referral fee for each download of Firefox that contains the Google toolbar.

Google’s high profile push of Firefox comes right as Microsoft is in full swing promoting Internet Explorer 7, an evolving product getting mixed reviews, thus far. “Yesterday’s browser – tomorrow” was the SiliconValley.com headline for the IE7 launch.

In addition to Google’s backing, Firefox is benefiting from old-fashioned hatred of Microsoft, with web-based campaigns cropping up to support the spread of Firefox. One such site is ExplorerDestroyer.com, which offers a script webmasters can install on their sites to automate the process of a visitor switching to Firefox.

“Get this tool for switching people from IE to Firefox,” the site proclaims. “For each person you switch, Google gives you $1, Microsoft loses marketshare, and an angel gets its wings.”

Time will tell if a boost from Google, with some help from MS-hating webmasters, will be enough to enable Firefox to chew away at IE’s market share further.

Firefox already has made inroads, clearly; according to Net Applications, between March 2005 and March 2006, IE’s share of the browser market fell from 88.59% to 84.70%, while Firefox improved from 6.71% to 10.05% in the same period.