Sarah Palin may have had her eye on the vice-presidential slot months before receiving a nomination, according to emails released Friday by Alaska officials.

Six boxes of emails, sent and received by the former governor in her first 21 months in office, were released in paper form on Friday.

The emails, printed on 24,199 pages, were picked up by reporters and photographers in Juneau – the isolated capital of Alaska.

As the emails became accessible and searchable, information that Palin was keeping a close watch on her constituent email in the months before she was chosen as the vice-presidential nominee came to light.

The series of flattering emails suggested she join the Republican presidential ticket. One message, from Richard Casey of Fort Collins, Colo. who wrote in June 2008, "Sarah Palin should run for vice president of the United States."

Another, from William McKane of Yankton, S.D. read, "I think that she would make a first-rate running mate for Senator John McCain. Please encourage her to accept if asked!"

Frank Bailey, a former close political aide who recently wrote a book sharply critical of Palin, said she would often use her personal email account in an attempt to keep information private.

"There seemed to be almost a paranoia of keeping her communication private," he said. "She at times would have me go in to her state account and delete and purge out emails that she didn't want, essentially, ever to be discovered."

The emails cover the period when she rose to national prominence and became the Republican vice-presidential nominee in September 2008.

The messages from before she was named vice-presidential nominee show a governor trying to deal with complaints, rumours and gossip about her family.

In several messages she asked the identity of someone who alleged she had not buckled her son Trig into his car seat. In another, she lamented about gossip about her family and marriage.

There was a three-year delay from when the emails were first requested in 2008 to when they were released, due to the sheer volume of messages and the flood of requests by citizens and news organizations.

Palin's attorneys were given the opportunity to see if there were any privacy concerns in the release but no emails were withheld or redacted as a result, Linda Perez, the administrative director in charge of co-ordinating the release, told The Associated Press.

Tim Crawford, the treasurer of Palin's political action committee, said in a statement that everyone should read the emails.

"The thousands upon thousands of emails released today show a very engaged Governor Sarah Palin being the CEO of her state," he said.

Palin also Tweeted, within minutes of the release, a link to the webpage for "The Undefeated" – a documentary about her rise in politics and her time as governor.

Palin told Fox News on Sunday she was unfazed by the release of the emails but that the messages "weren't meant for public consumption" and she expected people might take some of them "out of context."

Prior requests for records have shed light on the Palin administration's efforts to advance a natural gas pipeline project and the role played by Palin's husband Todd in state business.

Another 2,275 pages of emails are being withheld for special reasons including attorney-client privilege, work product or executive privilege. An additional 140 pages were deemed to be "non-records" or unrelated to state business.

Requests have also been made for messages from her final 10 months in office but officials haven't begun reviewing those yet.

With files from The Associated Press