The Office to be remade in Russia

The original version of The Office had two series and a festive special

A Russian version of award-winning comedy The Office is to be made, after a licensing deal was agreed between BBC Worldwide and Russia's Channel One.

A total of 24 half-hour episodes will be recorded and producers can develop their own scripts, which do not have to follow the original British plots.

No details of the new show's cast have yet been announced.

The UK version of The Office has been seen in more than 70 countries and there have been several spin-offs.

The first episode of the American remake attracted more than 11 million viewers in 2005.

Steve Carell played the role of Michael Scott, the regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The show completed its fourth series in May and has won a series of accolades, including an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy.

Steve Carell takes on the office manager role in the US version

France became the first country to produce a foreign-language remake, in 2006.

Francois Berleand starred as office manager Gilles Triquet in Le Bureau, set in Villepinte, a business area north of Paris.

Other local versions have also been licensed in Canada and Chile, with the latter airing next month.

Ricky Gervais won two Golden Globe awards for his original version. He and co-creator Stephen Merchant are executive producers on the US show.

BBC Worldwide head of sales for Russia, Ben Donald, said he was "obviously very eager to hear about the cast members, including who will be the David Brentski of Russia, and the location of their 'Slough'" - the town where the British version was set.