Google announced at the beginning of the week that Google News is now available for mobile phone users in the U.s. From now on, Internet-enabled phone users when visiting google.com, will see a news link that points to a page listing news headlines. Users can search for stories from a variety of sources and browse by subject. Only stories that are displayed on pages that have been optimized for mobile users are included, Google said.

A line at the bottom of the page tells users when the information on the page was last updated. Mobile users will pay to view Google News only via the fees they typically pay to access the Internet. The service is currently available to U.S. users only.

Mobile phone users have other options beside Google for accessing news. Many operators include news headlines within their mobile portals.

On Monday, CBS Corp. introduced a service that costs users 99 cents per month to receive as many as five daily text messages with breaking news.

In addition, operators and phone makers, including T-Mobile International AG, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB and Motorola Inc., have announced partnerships with Google that typically involve placing a Google search bar in a prominent position on mobile phones.

For more information on Google News for mobiles click on Google.