The auditing body will provide reader figures for digital-only mags for the first time, following a meeting last week with the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards in the UK and Ireland (Jicwebs).
Under the plans, digital-only magazines will be subject to a twice-yearly audit measured by unique users. ABCe has been in talks with Dennis Publishing, which houses digital-only magazine Monkey, and NatMags, which publishes Jellyfish, about the new auditing regime.
Following last week's meeting, Jicwebs also gave ABCe the green light to continue auditing the readership of digital media by country, following a trial. Richard Foan, managing director of ABCe, said the endorsement would be "invaluable to advertisers and media owners trading on these channels".
Publishing houses have been keen to take the digital route in recent months since Dennis' Monkey recorded 209,612 readers in its first six months. ABCe came to the figure by measuring the number of people who opened the e-zine when it was sent to their inbox.
The magazine has also changed its cover policy from featuring "real girls" to signing stars such as Carmen Electra and Christina Aguilera after reporting early success. It has also promised advertisers more bespoke ad formats to engage the readership.
NatMags became the second magazine publisher to take the digital plunge, with the launch of teenage girl title Jellyfish in March, while digital magazines have also been used in one-off situations.
BBC Magazines produced a 16-page digital publication in April, featuring video footage from the BBC Music Magazine Awards, while March saw Sony send more than one million digital magazines to its target audience as part of a PlayStation 3 promotion drive.
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