The feature, called Fast Flip, allows people to quickly page through publications and individual articles. Three-dozen publishers, including the Washington Post, New York Times and Newsweek, are providing content, Google said yesterday.
The company, which already compiles stories through its Google News service, is betting that making articles easier to read will attract more users and advertisers. The company will show ads tied to the subject of articles and share revenue with publishers. The service also works on Apple Inc.s iPhone and devices powered by Googles Android software.
“The publishing industry faces many challenges today, and there is no magic bullet,” Google said on its blog. “However, we believe that encouraging readers to read more news is a necessary part of the solution.”
Google Fast Flip is a test product available at the companys Labs Web site. Users can search through articles and share content with their friends. The service also can choose articles based on what users have read in the past. People can click a button to indicate that they liked a certain article.
Stories are grouped into categories, including entertainment, business, opinion and politics. Other publishers involved in the program include BusinessWeek, the British Broadcasting Corp., Christian Science Monitor, Salon and Us Magazine.
Google is introducing the product at a time when newspapers are losing readers and advertisers. U.S. newspaper print and online advertising revenue fell 29 percent to $6.82 billion in the second quarter, according to the Newspaper Association of America. That was a steeper decline than the previous period, the Arlington, Virginia-based trade group said last month.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $2.98 to $475.12 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 54 percent this year.