The New York Times has released its Times Reader in a free beta on NYTimes.com. The NYT may charge for this service after the beta. The Reader is a downloadable application for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista users. "The New York Times is the only newspaper to offer advertisers and readers this capability," said Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, NYTimes.com. "Times Reader is an opportunity for our readers to experience the paper in a new way and provides advertisers greater visibility for their ads through this unique platform."

AT&T, Columbia University School of Continuing Education and Tourneau are the advertisers participating in the beta launch.