How can mod_rewrite be utilized in PHP to improve URL readability and search engine optimization?

Issue: Mod_rewrite can be utilized in PHP to improve URL readability and search engine optimization by rewriting URLs to be more user-friendly and SEO-friendly.

```php
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^products/([0-9]+)/?$ product.php?id=$1 [NC,L]
```

This code snippet uses mod_rewrite to rewrite a URL like `example.com/products/123` to `example.com/product.php?id=123`, making the URL more readable for users and search engines.