GOOGLE TESTING NEW FORMAT FOR READING

       Google is testing a new format that is supposed to make reading online stories as easy as fliping through a magazine-a shift that could even-tually feed more advertising sales to revenue-starved publishers.
       The Internet-search leader unveiled the experiment called "Fast Flip" this week at a conference hosted by Tech Crunch, a popular blog.
       The service is meant to duplicate the look and feel of perusing a printed publication. The stories are displyed on electronic pages that can be quickly turned by clicking on large arrows on the side instead of waiting several seconds for a page to load, like on a standard Web link. Readers can sort throuht content based on topics, favourite writers and publications.
       For now, Fast flip will only show the first page of a story. Readers who want to continue will have to click through to the publisher's site, where the display reverts to a traditional Webpage.
       More than three dozen publishers, broadcasters and Web-only outlets have agreed to share their content on Fast Flip. The participants include two major newspapers, The New york Times and The Washington Post, as well as large magazines like Newsweek and Business Week.
       Publishers providing stories to Fast Flip will get most of the revenue from the ads that Google intends to show in the new format. That is a switch from Google's main search page and its news section, where the company keeps all the money from ads shown alongside headlines and snippets from stories.
       Fast Flip is Google's latest step to improve its relationship with newspaper and magazine publishers, many of whom have railed against the company for profiting from their articles without sharing the wealth.
       The acrimony has escalated as a three-year decline in the print medium's ad revenue accelerated during the past year.
       The newspaper industry's ad sales plunged 29 per cent in the first half this year while Google's crept up 4 per cent.
       In another example of cooperation, Google recently offered to help newspaper publishers set up a system to charge readers for access to parts of their websites.
       While the notion of Google funnelling more sales to publishers is appealing, news executives also want to ensure that Fast Flip does not become too popular. Publishers still want readers to come to their websites, where they can sell adswithout giving Google a piece of the action.