France Telecom denies Google talks about handset

PARIS (Reuters) - France Telecom on Tuesday denied being in talks with Google about introducing handsets fitted with the U.S. Web search leader's software systems.

"We formally deny being in talks with Google about a handset," said a spokesman for France Telecom, which mainly trades as Orange.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Google was in talks with several operators including Orange and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile in the United States among others to bring Google-powered phones to market by mid-2008.