The New York Times yesterday released Times Skimmer (http://www.nytimes.com/timesskimmer/), a new application designed to give online readers a similar experience to paging through a newspaper.

In February it launched an ‘article skimmer’ in beta, as reported previously by Journalism.co.uk. Now the finished application is ready for use.

This new version has been enhanced following feedback from beta users, the New York Times said yesterday.

The aim is to make it easier to browse through headlines and discover stories deep within sections of the website, it was explained in a release.

Headlines and short summaries of articles are displayed in a grid layout:

“The application is designed to fit and move for optimal viewing on different screen sizes and browsers. Readers can select from seven different display options to choose the layout that best meets their interests and preferences.

“The fonts displayed in Times Skimmer are the same fonts found in The New York Times newspaper, marking the first time these fonts have been introduced on NYTimes.com.”

It also incorporates a new ‘custom advertising position’ – designed to move seamlessly with the layout and navigation’.