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The free version of the Opera web browser managed to shed its advertising, and Opera fans owe Google a bit of thanks.

It's all about being the prominent search default in the browser, or so says Om Malik in his latest blog entry. He notes that an email from an Opera spokesperson verified "compensation deals" with search engines made this possible.

"The current most important deal now is with Google," the spokesperson said to Mr. Malik. That deal, and similar ones with Amazon and eBay, give those companies prime placement in the Opera search box. Mozilla has a similar arrangement with Google, with its search box and its default right-click menu search option on highlighted text sending queries straight to Mountain View.

The Mozilla Foundation may make as much as $30 million per year with this deal, according to Mr. Malik. He references Tribe,net founder Mark Pincus for this claim.

It's an interesting peek into what powers the companies behind browsers that aren't represented on the desktop with a big blue "e" logo. Opera and Firefox are both very good browsers, with plenty of features to make the browsing experience a useful and effective one.

One has to wonder what people would think if it were Microsoft instead of Google behind these kind of deals. Most people who see Google as a default search option probably think it is there because of Google's usefulness, not a paid placement. If they were to see MSN Search instead, many would likely think the opposite.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.