National Geographic is hoping to take a slice of the UK children's magazine market by launching an edition of its global Kids title.
National Geographic Kids has a monthly circulation of 1,677,500 in 14 countries and is aiming to sell 70,000 copies in the UK. Naturalist David Bellamy has been signed up to front the UK launch.
The children's title will be aimed at six- to 14-year-olds interested in entertainment, science, music, animals and the environment and will have an "inclusive and friendly" tone according to its editor.
The magazine's US edition has been guest-edited by Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Colin Powell, and guest editors for the UK version of the title are currently being lined up.
Editor Lauren Jarvis told Press Gazette: "We want to encourage kids to get out and explore their world — that's one of the key messages within the magazine.
"We'll primarily be focusing on environmental issues and animal conservation, and doing it in a really fun way."
Jarvis added: "We're not setting out to be an educational magazine. What we're trying to do is drip-feed the learning, so [readers] are going to enjoy reading the stories and at the same time there'll be things they can learn as they go along."
She said the UK edition will include some content from the US edition, but the UK edition would have its own features, including a feature about David Attenborough's TV nature series Planet Earth in the first issue.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
