At first, it sounds like a step back into the stone age for Google. Allowing customers to buy ads in various newspapers across the country from its web site?

Instead, Google is trying to take the one stop shopping concept that has worked for e-bay and other sellers to the newspaper advertising market. In creating a web portal that allows for newspaper advertising purchases at some of the nations largest newspapers, Google is simply acting as a middleman in the transaction.

The one stop shopping for advertising concept allows national or large regional companies to put together an advertising campaign in a multitude on newspapers with a single contact. Among the options are The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Jose Mercury News and the USA TODAY.

In the process, Google will continue to sell search advertising on its AdWords.google.com site. The company will add a "newspaper advertising" tab to the site that will then allow a business to bid on advertising on specific advertising space in various newspapers.

For more on the Google ad concept:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-11-06-google-ads_x.htm