Net news to bare all on TV

The bulletin has been running since December 1999

A Canadian internet news bulletin, during which newsreaders take their clothes off, has proved so popular that it has won a regular slot on TV.

The show, Naked News, has been available to watch on the internet since 1999, and will now be screened every Friday on a Canadian pay-TV channel.

It will cost £1.75 to watch the show on TV

The bulletins feature presenters reading serious world news - but who begin to strip off shortly into the show and end the bulletin completely naked.

The internet show, which features male and female newsreaders, has been attracting six million viewers, according to its founders.

'Excited'

It will now be seen on TV channel Viewer's Choice, but there will be a charge of C$3.99 (£1.75) to watch.

"We are genuinely excited to play a role, along with Viewer's Choice, in leading the convergence of the virtual world with the tangible world," Kathy Pinckert, vice-president of Naked Broadcasting Network, told Canadian website Jam.

Naked News follows a similar TV show, the Naked Truth, which was a hit in Russia.

The Naked News internet site has been reported to be getting almost as many hits as the Wall Street Journal's site.

The show gets its information from news wires and uses professionally trained writers and directors to produce the bulletins - and is not pornography, Ms Pinckert has said.

Concentration

The BBC's Katty Kay described Naked News as "confusing" earlier this year.

"By the time we have finished the Middle East peace talks, [newsreader] Ms Russo is completely naked," she wrote.

"Maybe my brain lacks horsepower but I simply cannot concentrate on the intricacies of world affairs while watching a strip show."