AOL plans to launch a test of its news portal on Tuesday, drawing influences from the design of popular Internet blogs.

The media company said it aimed to keep readers returning and to introduce a new generation of media consumers to the site by offering more interactive features such as polls and voting features and user-created news on one page.

AOL news can be found at http://news.aol.com/

AOL's sports site will also relaunch later this week following a similar design model.

Like some of its mainstream media rivals, AOL News faces a decline in visitors in the past month, according to comScore Media Metrix figures for May.

AOL overhauled its business model last summer, when it decided to give away most of its services away for free to boost online advertising by focusing on its free portal.

The new design divides the page into three vertical columns, with the heart of the programming at the center column. There, AOL's editors and producers update and select top news stories, videos and photos in one place.

Much like a blog, new stories push older ones lower as they are posted.

The right column is occupied by wire feeds from major news sources from the Associated Press, ABC News, CBS News and others. AOL News bloggers entries will also appear on the right column.

The left side of the page will feature user-submitted news and top stories voted on or commented on by viewers.