FT.com is looking to bring back the good old days, with the launch of its virtual Long Room, a bar and restaurant where London's top financiers once gathered in the centre of London. The Long Room was “renowned for where you went to find out what was really going on” in financial circles, Rob Grimshaw, said FT.com managing director, journalism.co.uk reported Saturday.

Registered users can join “tables” that are arranged by topic, and can also create their own. The Long Room launch comes after the success of FT.com's FT Alphaville, a financial blog, which had 7.1 million unique users as of March, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic.

“Alphaville is a really exciting area of FT.com, where we're truest to the Web medium,” said Grimshaw, noting that the new room is an “extension of that proposition,” journalism.co.uk reported.

In the Long Room, users will also be able to post comments, create an avatar of themselves and upload content, journalism.co.uk reported. The site will be free to use, but users will have to register and then be invited to join the forum.

Currently, there is no advertising on the site; however, FT.com is looking to sign advertisers to sponsor specific tables or topics. The Long Room will also be targeted at FT.com's international audience, according to journalim.co.uk.