Officials in the far northwestern U.S. state of Alaska have released more than 24,000 pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails from her first two years as governor.

The e-mails were first requested by journalists in 2008, when Palin became the running mate to Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The messages cover the period between December 2006, when she became Alaska governor, to September 2008. They include e-mails sent from two personal e-mail accounts that Palin used to conduct state business.

The documents, contained in several boxes, were distributed to reporters Friday at the state capital, Juneau.

Release of the e-mails comes as Palin contemplates a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. She recently told a reporter that everything is already known about her time as governor – in her words, “every rock” has already been turned over by those seeking to discover details about her and her family.

Palin said many of the e-mail messages were never meant for “public consumption,” and she predicted that some people would draw the wrong conclusions about her intent.

Palin resigned as Alaska's governor in July 2009 with 18 months remaining in her four-year term. Requests have also been made for e-mails covering her final 10 months in office.

Journalists traveled to the state capital to retrieve the documents, for which they are being charged more than $700 in printing fees. The state printed out the e-mails because officials said they were unable to create electronic copies.

More than 2,400 pages are being withheld by the state for legal reasons, including attorney-client confidentiality or executive privilege, in which a head of a government chooses what kind of material to keep private.