Vodafone has secured a deal with Google to sell the internet...

Vodafone has secured a deal with Google to sell the internet giant's new Nexus One smartphone, leading to speculation it could be the first company to bring the highly-anticipated phone to Australia, according to The Australian Financial Review.

Google unveiled the Nexus One touchscreen smartphone earlier this week, the internet giant's first foray into the growing smartphone market.

The company hopes the smartphone device can take on Apple's iPhone over time and help shore up the company's dominance in Internet advertising.

"I can confirm that our agreement with Google covers all Vodafone geographies," Vodafone Hutchinson Australia chief executive Nigel Daws said, according to the newspaper.

Google is yet to set a release date for the phone in Australia.

Analysts say the phone -- to be sold directly to consumers -- is not expected to dramatically alter the carrier-hardware vendor relationship the industry relies on, nor is it likely to yield a revenue windfall in the short term, though executives said it could be profitable.