LONDON (Reuters) – News Corp's UK newspaper arm is to put its mass-selling News of the World tabloid, known for scoops on celebrities and politicians, behind an online paywall in its latest move to charge readers for web access.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has championed the cause of charging for news online, which consumers had become used to reading for free, contributing to a fall in newspaper revenues.

The group started charging for online access for its broadsheet newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times earlier this year. The daily Sun newspaper is still available for free and the company has not said whether that will change.

News International, Murdoch's British newspaper unit, said the British tabloid News of the World would start charging for access from October and would feature its exclusive video and pictures.

Readers will pay £1 for a day's access or £1.99 for a four-week subscription. An application to run on the popular Apple iPad will follow with a separate weekly charge of £1.19.

"The News of the World website will be the third of our titles to launch a paid-for digital proposition in under four months," News International CEO Rebekah Brooks said in a statement.

"News International is leading the industry by delivering on its commitment to develop new ways of making the business of news an economically exciting proposition."