It will soon cost readers of "The Australian", $2.95 weekly to access the newspaper's online content through computers, smartphones and tablets.

Publisher News Ltd. announced the future charge so it could generate additional revenue to cover weak advertising sales.
The move follows the paywall introduced by The Australian Financial Review, the first major newspaper to do so, though News Ltd. had been planning its own version for some time.

The charge will take effect this month with a free trial period. Existing subscribers of the printed edition, however, will have free access to the newspaper's online content.

New subscribers will have to shell out the amount to get a digital pass of the website, apps and a mobile site.

The fee will be $4.50 if the online subscriber will also want to get a printed edition every Saturday. For online subscribers who also want to get a copy of the newspaper from Monday to Saturday, the weekly digital pass will be $7.95.

It will not be the first time that News Ltd.'s parent company, News Corp. of Rupert Murdoch, will introduce a paywall.

News Corp.'s The Wall Street Journal has some news articles on its website that can be read for free while others need to be subscribed for a fee.

The Australian's online content will cost readers $2.95 weekly.