Search engine giant Google Inc. and software maker Intuit Inc., announced a pact that packages Google Web tools with the 2007 version of QuickBooks, Intuit's small business accounting software. 

The marketing alliance is a boon for QuickBooks users who want integrated access between the accounting software and Google's popular tools. Small businesses can use the software to market themselves online by listing their businesses on Google Maps, creating and managing advertising campaigns with Google AdWords, and posting their products for sale on Google through Google Base, a free product listing service.

Intuit will also incorporate Google Desktop, a powerful search engine, into QuickBooks so users will be able to quickly find customer, vendor or financial information anywhere within QuickBooks or on their desktop.

The news came one week after a chief rival of both companies, Microsoft, announced it will drop "small business" from the name of its accounting software program, which debuted last year as Microsoft Small Business Accounting.

Instead, the 2007 version of the software will be named Microsoft Office Accounting. The target audience, despite the name change, remains the same: businesses with 25 employees or less. The beta download is available now at http://connect.microsoft.com/officeaccountingbeta