SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 26 ― Facebook yesterday said it is speeding up plans to go international with a news tab feature that involves paying publishers for stories delivered through the leading social network.

A Facebook News section that debuted late last year in the US will be expanded in the next six months or so to more countries, with top contenders said to be Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, and India.

"In each country, we'll pay news publishers to ensure their content is available in the new product,” Facebook global news partnerships vice president Campbell Brown said in a blog post.

"We will keep building new products and making global investments to help the news industry build long-lasting business models.”

Facebook News is off to a "strong start” in the US, driving a significant amount of online traffic to publishers, according to Brown.

"Based on this progress, we are accelerating our plans to expand internationally,” Brown said.

News agencies have struggled to make money as ad revenue and people's attention have shifted online, where stories are available free of charge in a dynamic criticised by publishers.

"Innovation is critical to building a sustainable news ecosystem,” Brown said. ― AFP-Relaxnews