According to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch Google is planning to launch a mobile phone network in the UK over the next few weeks.

The story is that Google would partner with O2 to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and sell a small number of mid to low cost Nokia handsets online. The phones would be pre-loaded with Google mobile software such as maps, local search and email applications.

Arrington is basing the information on a single “good source” so the rumour might not turn out to be true. The main problem with launching an MVNO is having enough money and brand equity to build a customer base. With the market share Google has in the UK for search (80%) it would seem like they have the ability to pull this one off. They could probably sell thousands of phones per day just by adding a link from google.co.uk