... according to a report in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. “Newspass” is being tested as a name for the platform as the search engine starts reaching out to publishers to gauge their interest.

According to the report, Google will be able to index content that sits behind newspaper and magazine publisher pay walls and offer users who click through on the articles a unified one-click payment system for acquiring access or the article. Paid content in the user’s search results would be tagged with a special icon. Users would be able to sign into the system with a universal identifier much like the Facebook Connect user ID that many publishers now employ, and it could be used on multiple mobile and desktop platforms.

Google alreay has an online payment infrastructure in place called Google Checkout. The system was rolled out several years ago as a competitor to the PayPal online payments system, but it hasn't gotten the traction with vendors many anticipated.

More ... http://www.minonline.com/news/Google-to-Offer-Paid-Content-Plan-for-Publ...