Google News Is Out Of Beta

Google Inc. on Monday said has taken its online news service out of beta, and has added a feature that automatically recommends stories to subscribers of its personalized search offering.

Google News, launched in September 2002, is a computer-automated system that lists related articles in groups, which the search engine calls "clusters." The service, which does not use human editors, is offered in 22 regional editions and 10 languages.

Google News also offers email alerts configured by users, and the ability to create a personalized page. In addition, the company said Monday it would offer to personalized search subscribers the ability to view and manage their history of news searches and the articles read.

When logged in to their Google Account, subscribers visiting the Google News page will receive recommended news stories based on previously read stories. The recommendations will be highlighted just below the top news stories on the page. The suggested stories are chosen automatically, using algorithms.

In addition, subscribers will get a section showing the most popular stories on Google News.