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Speculation has been rife over the exact form of Google's GPhone project, with some sources claiming the search king will manufacture its own handsets, and others saying that it will focus solely on software.

However, a new report in the New York Times claims Google will lay down the gauntlet to

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Windows Mobile and Symbian by giving away its OS.

"The essential point is that Google's strategy is to lead the creation of an open-source competitor to Windows Mobile," a source close to Google tells the New York Times. "It will put it in the open-source world and take the economics out of the Windows Mobile business."

The report claims that Google has already touted prototype devices to phone manufacturers, to demonstrate the OS's capabilities. It adds the software will go beyond Google's already impressive roster of mobile applications, including new features such as the company's own mobile browser.

The Google move comes shortly after British chip firm, ARM, announced that it too would be developing a its own Linux-based mobile OS.

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