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US news and commentary website Salon.com is debuting an innovative scheme that gives users the choice between an ad-funded free site or a subscription-based model - on the proviso that if they opt for the free way they have to endure lengthy car ads.

Articles which would otherwise have to be paid for can now be read for free is visitors watch a four-page commercial from Mercedes. If they then interact with the ad, visitors get an all-day pass to Salon.com's premium content areas, for which subscribers usually pay about $6 monthly, or $30 annually.

Cheryl Lucanegro, senior vice president of sales for Salon Media Group, said: "It's a way to balance advertising and the visitor's desire to read specific content."

She added that about 20 per cent of the site's columns and feature articles are behind the subscription wall.

Stefanie Olsen writes for News.com