Google annouced this morning that they are expanding the already massive News Archive search by "partnering with newspaper publishers to digitize millions of pages of news archives." Google's Marissa Mayer demonstrated the new technology today at TechCrunch50.

The service is built on the technology used in Google Books, and can distinguish headlines from article text. If you've ever used a microfiche, the experience is remarkably similar. A tumbnailed view is presented at the right of the screen and contains a draggable selection box that allows you to "flip" through the paper. Pages can also be navigated Acrobat-style by entering a page number or clicking forward/back buttons.

It's a promising development, and should prove to be a powerful research tool.

A side panel will display relveant articles as well as contextual AdSense ads, with Google and the publishers splitting revenue. They've also promised to drive new newspaper subscriptions by adding a "get this paper" link.

Take the new service for a test drive, and let us know what you think!