Google took the wrappers off its experimental Fast Flip news-browsing website yesterday, and debuted a mobile-friendly version for iPhone and Android at the same time.

The main website, which is an offshoot from Google News, aims to mirror the ability to flip through a magazine or newspaper in the real world, scanning articles for something interesting.

"The flow should feel seamless and let you rapidly flip forward to the content you like, without the constant wait for things to load," blogs Google News researcher Krishna Bharat.

However, there are personalisation elements built in too, with users able to mark articles they like to help Fast Flip learn their preferences, while also recommending articles to friends.

Google has partnered with "three dozen top publishers" for the launch, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Salon and Newsweek. They'll get a share of advertising revenues on the site.

So what about mobile? The site for iPhone and Android works in the same way, allowing users to swipe left and right between stories around individual topics.

The fact that it's a mobile site rather than a downloadable application is a further sign of Google's belief that sophisticated web apps will be increasingly important for smartphones.