Google News offers image view

Google News is offering a new Image View that displays photos linked to news items with scrolling headlines in a column on the right.

"In looking at how people use Google News and based on feedback we've received, we've found that many people prefer to read the news in a more visual way," the company wrote in the Google News Blog. "The Image Version of News lets you view and explore the top headlines of the day through photos instead of just text."

Mousing over an image displays a summary of the news item and the link to it on the right side. You can still use the standard version, which contains smaller thumbnails next to news items, or a text version without images.

As Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker put it, "Google News Image Version allows users a better way to 'see' the news. And sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words."