Google will end its Print Ads product beginning Feb. 28, Print Ads Director Spencer Spinnell announced Tuesday.

"While we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we -- or our partners -- wanted," the announcement stated.

For advertisers who have already booked campaigns, Google will place ads through March 31, according to the announcement, posted on Google Blogs.

The Print Ads programme was launched in November 2006 with 50 newspaper partners, and has since grown to include more than 800 newspapers in the United States.

"We remain dedicated to working with publishers to develop new ways for them to earn money, distribute and aggregate content and attract new readers online. We have teams of people working with hundreds of publishers to find new and creative ways to earn money from engaging online content," Spinnell stated.

He pointed to AdSense, Google News, DoubleClick, Google Maps and YouTube as examples of products Google hopes will continue "innovate" the space "fair and accurate journalism" also occupies.

"These important efforts won't stop. We will continue to devote a team of people to look at how we can help newspaper companies. It is clear that the current Print Ads product is not the right solution, so we are freeing up those resources to try to come up with new and innovative online solutions that will have a meaningful impact for users, advertisers and publishers," Spinnell stated in his announcement.