Two of South Africa's most popular newspapers, The Herald and its sister paper the Weekend Post, today launched a new, dual entry online platform, reported The Herald, the country's oldest newspaper.

The papers, both published by Avusa Media Group, serve the Southern and Eastern Cape areas and are focusing on a user-friendly, interactive and dynamic online newspaper experience.

The sites will incorporate a new blog platform featuring general interest and lifestyle blogs, as well as multimedia with easily accessible video, audio and image galleries. The new Web site also looks to target the growing number of online mobile users and plans to bring up to the minute news to wireless cell phone users.

As the use of broadband has grown rapidly, and the level of 3G mobile subscribers in the region is high, the site will also bring a distinctly local flavor, focusing on the events and news of the Eastern and Southern Cape areas and their cities and towns, according to a BizCommunity report on the new platform. Importantly, the new digital platform will also create new forums for advertisers, especially those pursuing local, online consumers.

Editor-in-chief for both papers, Jethro Goko outlined the new online sites' three main objectives: firstly to better engage their audience; secondly, to strengthen the position of the print based versions of the newspapers by ensuring meaningful cooperation with the online platform; and finally, creating effective story telling methods for the growing online and mobile audience.

"Despite the economic downturn, the market for news and information, particularly that which is relevant and useful, and the demand for places where people can interact and debate that news and those issues, has never been stronger," said Goko, according to BizCommunity.

The new sites can be found at http://www.theherald.co.za and http://www.weekendpost.co.za/.