AOL expanded to India on Thursday with its first portal targeting Asia’s growing online population. Although AOL has been dropping its Internet access businesses around the world, it has been making a bigger push at delivering content through free Web sites in hopes of boosting advertising opportunities. AOL expanded its portal audiences in Europe as part of deals to sell off its access businesses there.

The Indian portal, launched Thursday at http://aol.in, is in English. Although only a small fraction of India’s population can speak it, English has become a common language in business and government circles in a country with a slew of spoken tongues.

The AOL site offers free e-mail accounts, search services powered by minority owner Google Inc., and news and entertainment channels targeting Bollywood, cricket and other areas of interest to India’s population.  See more…