The Associated Press' mobile network has begun carrying stories from six leading Latin American newspapers through a distribution deal with Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), MediaBuyerPlanner reported. The regional newspapers that now form a part of the AP Mobile network are El Tiempo of Colombia, La Nación of Costa Rica, El Comercio of Ecuador, El Nuevo Dí­a from Puerto Rico, El Paí­s of Uruguay, and El Nacional from Venezuela.

The Grupo de Diarios América represents a large section of Latin American newspaper readership that exceeds six million daily readers, and 10 million on Sundays, Editor & Publisher reported. The content from the Latin American newspapers can now be accessed on a new Latin America section on the AP mobile network. New AP mobile apps and widgets for Latin America will be launched in the forthcoming months in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"Teaming up with GDA bolsters our efforts to provide consumers local stories in their local languages, creating an international footprint for mobile news across today's most popular phones and wireless devices," Jeff Litvack, general manager of Mobile and Emerging Products at the AP, said in the announcement, according to E&P. "On any given day, AP Mobile gives mobile news readers access to more than 18,000 local stories from around the globe."

The AP first announced its Latin America mobile expansion plans last November at the IAPA general assembly in Buenos Aires, according to E&P.

The AP moved farther into the international market last year with French and English mobile versions of The Canadian Press, soon followed with AP Mobile en Español, featuring U.S. Spanish-language news in two versions - a dedicated news category channel for the AP Mobile iPhone application and a standalone application for download on BlackBerry App World, according to MediaBuyerPlanner. This initiative offered content to both the local and international Spanish-speaking audiences on AP mobile.

Users can now access GDA stories on the AP mobile network using AP Mobile Apps available for different mobile devices. The Future AP Móvil (AP Mobile in Brazil) apps and widgets will be launched this quarter and updates are available on the Web site, E&P reported.