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After a decade, Mozilla has announced it is ending its partnership with Google as the default option for Firefox web searches.

From the start of December, people using the browser in the US will be switched to Yahoo.

In Russia, Firefox will start using local search engine Yandex, and Baidu will continue to be the default search engine in China.

Mozilla said the UK will remain unaffected, for the time being.   

From the start of December, people using the browser in the US will be switched to Yahoo as the default service. In Russia, Firefox will start using local search engine Yandex, and Baidu will continue to be the default search engine in China. Mozilla said the UK will remain unaffected, for the time being

'We are ending our practice of having a single global default search provider,' Mozilla Corporation chief Chris Beard said in a blog post.

'We are adopting a more local and flexible approach to increase choice and innovation on the web, with new and expanded search partnerships by country.'

Firefox is an open-source browser that was launched by California-based Mozilla in 2002.

As of October 2014, it is the third most used web browser in the world, behind Google's Chrome and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

A total of more than 100 billion online searches are done each year by people around the world using Firefox browsers, according to Mr Beard.

'We are excited to partner with Yahoo to bring a new, re-imagined Yahoo search experience to Firefox users in the US featuring the best of the web, and to explore new innovative search and content experiences together.

The decision to switch to Yahoo came as a decade-long agreement with Google neared its end, and Mozilla 'evaluated its options', according to the firm.

The partnership with Yahoo is set to last five years.

'We're so proud that they've chosen us as their long-term partner in search, and I can't wait to see what innovations we build together,' Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer said in a release.

'We believe deeply in search - it's an area of investment, opportunity and growth for us.'

Five years ago, Yahoo signed a deal with Microsoft to have Bing to carry out behind-the-scenes indexing of online content.

Yahoo and Microsoft agreed to split ad revenue under terms of the 10-year search deal, which let Yahoo focus on customising query results for users.

Ms Mayer has repeatedly stressed that Yahoo remains devoted to the search market that the company pioneered, but which Google eventually dominated.

Although Yahoo, as well as Yandex and Baidu, will now be shown by default on the Firefox browser, users can change their settings to restore Google. 

One way is to select Google from the drop-down menu to the left of the search box on the Navigation bar.

Firefox is an open-source browser that was launched by Mozilla in 2002. More than 100 billion searches are done each year, globally, using Firefox browsers. The decision to switch to Yahoo came as a decade-long agreement with Google neared its end and Mozilla evaluated its options, according to the firm

As of October 2014, Firefox is the third most used web browser in the world, behind Google's Chrome and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Its partnership with Yahoo is set to last five years

Alternatively, users can change the default engine by typing about:config in the address bar, and selecting the 'I'll be careful, I promise' box.

Search for keyword.url in the filter box and double click the entry. 

This will open a box where the user can edit the so-called keyword.url string.

In this box, type the full web address of the desired search engine and click OK. In this case, it would be Google: 'http://ift.tt/1r05aHJ'

The browser may need to be restarted for the changes to take place.