A new section has been launched on Northcliffe’s this is… newspaper websites, devoted to the latest Internet buzzword – podcasting!

Podcasts are web feeds of audio files which can either be downloaded and listened to on a PC or subscribed to for listening on an iPod.

They are becoming increasingly popular as a medium with downloads already running into the millions.

In-house political commentator Paul Linford turned his Derby Evening Telegraph and Lincolnshire Echo column into a podcast which now runs across all 28 group websites.

Now the Nottingham Evening Post has become the first newspaper in the group to generate its own podcasts, from columnists Erik Petersen and Jeremy Lewis.

Paul, who is also NEP’s web development manager, said: "It’s all part of the process of giving people added reasons to visit the sites and access material they would not find in the newspapers.

"We have already shown with the introduction of video bulletins that we are determined to keep abreast of technological developments, and to build visitor expectations of what they will find on our sites."

As well as columnists, other ideas for podcasting have included recording round-table discussions and daily news round-ups.

The podcasts section, designed by content developer Matt Foulkes, can be found on the new-look this is… homepages directly underneath video bulletins in the navigation.

To see what it looks like, click here.