The internet search engine Google has announced newspaper publishers can now limit the number of free articles people can read online.
The concession follows claims from some media companies that Google is profiting from online news pages.
Under the First Click Free programme, publishers can now prevent unrestricted access to subscription websites.
Users who click on more than five articles a day may be directed to payment or registration pages.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch had earlier accused firms such as Google of profiting from journalism by generating advertising revenue through linking readers to newspaper articles.
Some readers have discovered they can avoid paying subscription fees to newspaper websites by calling up their pages via Google.
