AOL on Tuesday launched new sites on personal finance and photography as part of its bid to grow advertising opportunities by serving niche audiences.

The new WalletPop expands on an existing site of the same name by adding alerts on the latest deals and moneysaving tips, along with answers to reader-submitted questions. Pixcetera, meanwhile, is devoted to high-quality professional photography.

Like many other niche sites AOL has launched in recent months, WalletPop and Pixcetera play down the AOL brand, which has long been associated with dial-up Internet access for the masses despite efforts to transform the company into an advertising business.

AOL is creating scores of specialty sites _ breaking away from a one-size-fits-all model and letting each set its own design and editorial tone _ as part of efforts to draw additional advertising the company crucially needs to offset plunging revenue from its shrinking base of Internet access subscribers.

WalletPop aims to address “the money matters of real people, such as debt management, finding the best deals, saving, retirement, insurance, mortgages, banking, taxes and more,” said Marty Moe, an AOL senior vice president.

Pixcetera seeks to aggregate thousands of professional images and galleries now spread across various AOL sites. The site will include recommendations for taking better pictures and comments on trends in photography.

AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., is offering both for free.