A U.S. naval ship is headed from the Gulf of Thailand to the Strait of Malacca as efforts to find a missing Malaysian airliner shift focus, officials said Wednesday.

The USS Kidd, a guided missile destroyer, has been taking part in the near week-long hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 along with another American destroyer and a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft.

"The Kidd is going to the Straits of Malacca and will be searching in the western section of the strait at the request of the Malaysian government," an official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

The international hunt initially focused on the South China Sea east of Malaysia, along the plane's intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

But the desperate search has expanded to include waters on both sides of peninsular Malaysia.

The White House confirmed that new information had prompted authorities to examine an area to the west in the Indian Ocean.

"It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive, but new information, an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

"We are consulting with international partners about the appropriate assets to deploy."