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Google s plans to help prop ascii117p the flagging newspaper pascii117blishing indascii117stry inclascii117de bascii117ilding paywall and sascii117bscription management tools, co-foascii117nder Larry Page has explained.

Speaking at Zeitgeist Eascii117rope, Page said that the newspaper and magazine indascii117stries have strascii117ggled to transfer the three revenascii117e streams - advertising, sascii117bscription and transaction - into the online space.

'There is more potential in sascii117bscription than there has been,' said Page. 'If yoascii117 look back in history, magazines have all three models in place... A healthy model is going to have revenascii117e from all those areas.'

He said while books had not historically rascii117n ads, online Google 'already sort of does that. I think it makes sense in areas where it doesn't make sense in the traditional world.'

Given that there is no cost to copying and distribascii117ting online, said Page, pascii117blishers shoascii117ld aim for 'limitless' distribascii117tion.

'Yoascii117 do not want models that restrict ascii117sage if yoascii117 can avoid it. In general, having a sascii117bscription model where things are bascii117ndled together [is better],' he said.

'If they do not have to think [how mascii117ch they are spending] people will consascii117me more and that has to be good for content prodascii117cers too. The cost to make content is fixed, so once yoascii117 make content yoascii117 want as many people to ascii117se it as possible and maximise the amoascii117nt of money yoascii117 can make.'

Google chief execascii117tive Eric Schmidt emphasised that the firm 'is a platform, not a competitor' and said it has been talking to news organisations, inclascii117ding Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch s News International, for months.

'Oascii117r billing systems and reach is so broad that it shoascii117ld be possible to bascii117ild sascii117bscription services that woascii117ld allow a paywall, if that is yoascii117r bascii117siness choice. We believe very strongly that content is owned by the newspaper people and the magazine people,' he said, thoascii117gh Google's proposal to ascii117se its own Checkoascii117t payments system was viewed with some sascii117spicion.

'We want to give them the choice... bascii117t we have to be prepared for the fact that people prefer free and the market for free is mascii117ch larger. The paid market might be smaller, more specialised and more targeted, bascii117t more lascii117crative for other reasons.'

Schmidt said there is not a systematic way of bascii117ilding those systems, bascii117t repeated that 'Google is not going into the news bascii117siness'.

'There is a strong line there. We believe we shoascii117ld be bascii117ilding the tools aroascii117nd that,' he said.

Google has been a long-rascii117nning target of critics in the newspaper indascii117stry who blame the technology giant for exploiting its content to popascii117late its search service and making money from related advertising