Fairfax Media is preparing to launch electronic edition iPad apps for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The new apps will let readers flip through the newspapers' pages, zoom in and out, scroll, click on a story to read in text form, and click on headlines to highlight individual stories.
They can also share articles with friends, comment on stories or make topic, people, and keywords searches, said Fairfax Media.
Although pricing for the apps has not yet been announced, the company said they would be available free for a limited period.
It has also recently announced a magazine app called Sport&Style which will become the first magazine in Australia to launch a fully interactive iPad application when the much anticipated Apple device is released this week.
The arrival of the iPad has been touted as a watershed for the publishing industry by supporters who believe the technology could revive declining magazine and newspaper readership.
GQ magazine was the first in the US to become available on the iPad.
''I think it is the beginning of a new era for magazine publishing,'' said the chief executive and publisher of Fairfax Magazines, Lisa Hudson.
The iPad was exciting because it offered the aesthetic excellence in design and photography loved by magazine readers in a digital format that could expand at the movement of a finger into dynamic video, photo galleries, 3D capability and other interactive extras, Ms Hudson said. ''It brings the whole thing to life.''
The iPad app also opened up new opportunities for advertisers to attract customers through photo galleries and videos, she said.
The Sport&Style iPad app will be available for download for $3.49 an issue soon after iPads are released on Friday.
