News Corp will charge readers for online versions of its London Times and Sunday Times newspapers from June, becoming the first media firm to test consumers' appetite to pay for mass-market news online.
Access to two new websites for the two titles will cost £1 per day or £2 for a week. Subscribers to the print versions will get free access, News Corp said today.
"This is just the start," said Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News Corp's British newspaper unit News International, which also publishes the Sun daily tabloid and the News of the World on Sundays.
"At a defining moment for journalism, this is a crucial step towards making the business of news an economically exciting proposition," she said.
Newspapers in Europe and the United States have been battered by the recession while fighting a structural shift in their business from paid-for newspapers to largely free news on the internet.
Two business newspapers - the Financial Times and News Corp's Wall Street Journal - charge readers for online access.
News Corp chief executive Rupert Murdoch has become a kind of champion of paid-for online news, saying Google has deprived the industry of revenue by making news articles searchable for free.
In January, the New York Times said it would start charging readers for access to online articles from next year, acknowledging that advertising revenues were unlikely to be able to fund its journalism in the future.
The editors of the Times and Sunday Times promised interactive features to get readers more involved, personalised news feeds, and coming versions for phones, ereaders, tablet computers and other mobile devices.
The Times and the Sunday Times will launch new, separate websites in early May, which will be free to registered customers for a trial period.
The print version of the Times costs £1 on weekdays and £1.50 on Saturdays, and the Sunday Times costs £2.
Meanwhile, Independent News and Media has begun charging readers of its regional papers for access to its content online. The new fees came into effect earlier this week and affect titles such as the Kerryman, the Drogheda Independent and the Carlow People.
The media group is charging 50 cent for access to a single article, or €3.50 for a bundle of 10 articles. It also offers subscriptioncharges from €19.99 for three months access to €49.99 for the year.
However, certain elements remain free, such as breaking news. The website of the Irish Independent and Evening Herald are not yet affected.
Additional reporting - Reuters