From 2 July users wishing to access The Times or The Sunday Times websites will be charged £1 a day or £2 a week, although subscribers to either of the printed titles receive access at no additional cost.

All eyes will now be on the traffic figures for the two sites, which are being seen as test of the value of online news and consumer willingness to pay for it.

News Corporation, News International's parent company, announced plans to charge for website access within 12 months in late 2009.

If the pay wall proves successful other UK publishers may follow suite.

It will also be interesting to see if it has any effect on the printed title, although News International has said that it considers the two products as separate and is not intending to increase newspaper sales through this launch.

News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks said: "We have been very pleased with the response from readers since the launch of the new websites for The Times and The Sunday Times in May.

"The new sites showcase our award-winning journalism in a very visual way, giving readers exclusive content and interactivity so that they can get even more from the news. We believe the new sites offer real value and we look forward to continuing to invest and innovate for readers."

As an introductory offer, all customers that register for the sites will get access to both sites for a one-off charge of £1 for the first 30 days.