Washingtonpost.com wants readers' data

Washingtonpost.com said Wednesday that it will require registration from visitors to its Web site, in a move aimed at delivering targeted advertisements to readers and at improving ad revenues amid a continuing industry slump. The online counterpart to the Washington Post, published by Arlington, Va.-based Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, will start Aug. 14 to compel its roughly 5 million visitors to fill out a one-time, three-part questionnaire before they read articles. The survey collects information from readers' on their year of birth, gender and zip code.

The registration push plays into a trend in the digital publishing industry to collect more personal data from readers and serve ads tailored to their tastes.