Yahoo has announced it will launch a "digital newsstand" platform in the first half of this year, offering personalised content based on the activities of individual users.

The new platform, called Livestand, was initially designed to power content from Yahoo's digital library, such as News and Sports, as well as the Yahoo Contributor Network.

In time it will also aim to act as a 'magazine rack' for other publishers to offer content through.

Personalised content will be provided using information from previous visits to the website by the user, as well as other factors such as their location and the time of day, according to a release.

"Adoption of tablets and mobile phones is exploding, and digital media isn't keeping up," Blake Irving, executive vice president and chief product officer for Yahoo said in a release.

"Consumers can't find the publications they buy off the newsstand, and publishers and advertisers can't reach the audiences they want to serve ...

"Livestand is an immersive environment that provides a dynamic and personalized experience for consumers, and a pipeline of fresh and active content for publishers and advertisers."

It is understood that the new platform will be available as a tablet application for consumers in the first half of 2011 on the iPad as well as on Android tablets, with a planned extension onto web browsers and mobile in the future.

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