RS&P magazines available online

The move is made possible by RS&P's partnership with NewsStand.com, an international digital publishing company that distributes the electronic versions of hundreds of magazines and newspapers - among them the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Harvard Business Review - around the world daily.

Ramsay, Son & Parker's intention is to grow its subscriber base by targeting overseas users who have access to broadband technology, enabling them to download very large files. Wine will be approximately 15 megabytes and Getaway 25 megabytes in size, once their pdf files are converted to a digital format. Overseas magazines distributed electronically typically see a five percent increase in subscriptions.

Accessing the magazines in this way will make it possible for overseas users to buy an annual subscription or single copies of the magazines at a fraction of the conventional rate - the equivalent of the local cover price and subscription price.

The advantages to users are obvious: content delivered in the familiar magazine format at the same time as local subscribers receive their printed copies, at a huge saving. In time, archived material will provide a valuable resource to online readers.

For the magazines, the brands gain international exposure, provide advertisers with added reach at no additional cost and generate additional revenue for minimal outlay because of the savings in both production and postage.

While the initiative targets overseas users, local internet users who have broadband access will also be able to take advantage of the offer. The digital edition of Wine can be ordered at www.winemag.co.za or www.newsstand.com.