AOL announced the relaunch of a new private-party classifieds section, using Oodle’s classified aggregation service. Interestingly, the site says “featuring Oodle,” rather than a more typically worded “powered by Oodle.”

Anyone, not just AOL users, can upload free ads in the merchandise, pets, tickets, vehicles and services categories to appear in listings searchable across the Oodle network in the U.S. and Canada (AOL has a separate site there). The service is expected to launch in the U.K. later this week

AOL exited the private-party classifieds business in 2005, instead aggregating listings from channel partners.

AOL’s Chris Spanos, general manager of AOL local and specialty verticals, said that the current economic climate is actually spurring the company’s move into classifieds. Providing “consumers with an easy way to buy and sell merchandise and services, or make local connections through classifieds is becoming even more important.”

The new AOL Classifieds site is pretty much a clone of Oodle’s site. Check out Oodle vs. AOL Classifieds.

From the AOL release:

“Buyers can expect to find deals with access to more than 40 million listings aggregated from more than 80,000 different sites. In addition, AOL Classifieds links consumers directly to classifieds listings on other properties within the AOL network, including AOL Autos, AOL Jobs, AOL Personals, and AOL Real Estate. AOL Classifieds is the latest addition to the AOL Local Network, which is an online local network with a monthly reach of 54 million unduplicated unique visitors.”

AOL’s new classifieds channel is at classifieds.aol.com.