Google Inc. has agreed to license content from the Associated Press to use as part of a new service that will likely complement Google News, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The deal, which was agreed to several months ago but unveiled earlier this week, will cover selected content of Associated Press articles and is expected to be hosted on Google's site, the report said.

The deal could have implications for news organizations that have lost ad revenue to online "aggregators" such as Google and Yahoo Inc. Google traditionally hasn't paid for the news content it posts on its Google News site, claiming its use of the headlines and few sentences it posts doesn't infringe on copyrights.

While Google was quick to emphasize that the specific licensing deal with the Associated Press doesn't affect Google News, the deal appears to have been structured so that it satisfies AP's desire to get paid for its content, and at the same time allows Google to maintain its position with respect to "fair use" of content on Google News, according to the report.

Source: Xinhua