NTT DoCoMo betting on bidding

Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo announced a partnership with Internet shopping mall Rakuten to launch a new auction service available today on PCs and Nov. 20 on wireless handsets. The two companies will also offer a social networking service as part of the deal, an outgrowth of the $36 million agreement signed by DoCoMo and Rakuten last year. In addition to challenging the supremacy of Yahoo Japan, currently the nation's biggest online auction provider, the new service should also give a lift to DoCoMo's so-called "wallet phone" m-commerce solution.

For more on the DoCoMo/Rakuten launch:
- read this TechWhack article

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