News International announced in a memo to staff today that readers of the Times Online, the Times and the Sunday Times will receive a communication this week inviting them to register for an "exclusive preview of the new digital proposition".

The memo came from Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International. In it she informed staff that she had made no secret of their intention to begin charging for online news content.

She explained that News International is committed to producing quality journalism that is written by professionals with a deep understanding of their subject and a commitment to providing well-informed coverage of issues.

NI's chief executive openly criticised the industry for giving consumers more and more website content at no charge. She commented that the industry is "making a mistake" with this.

She also wrote: "When we talk about charging for our content online, we are talking about charging a fair price. Price alone will not be a barrier to take up."

She went on to say: "Of course, we expect to see the numbers of unique users of our sites come down dramatically. But the people who register to our new digital products will be customers who have made a positive decision to pay a fair price for journalism that they value, and they will be those who are more committed to and engaged with our titles."

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Earlier this month, AOL sold Newcastle-based marketing affiliate company Perfiliate, to London-based Digital Window. Perfiliate runs a leading affiliate marketing networks under the brand, Buy.at.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed but it was reported that AOL purchased Buy.at for $125-150 back in 2008. The deal is part of AOL's wish to shed some of its non-core business assets.

Buy.at was set up in 2002 and is an affiliate network that allows publishers in the UK, USA and Scandinavia partner up with sellers to drive business through their websites.

CEO of Digital Window, Kevin Brown, commented that the deal will benefit the affiliate marketing industry in general: "This transaction is a milestone not only for Digital Window, but also for the performance marketing industry as a whole. Both companies already excel in the areas of service, ethics and technology. Joining forces enables us to harness the passion and creativity of both businesses to the benefit of all our partners."

Last year a majority stake in Digital Window was acquired by German media group Axel Springer AG and Swiss communications company Publigroupe S.A. The Swiss company is also the owner of Zanox AG in Berlin, the largest performance-based online marketing network in continental Europe.