According to a report in the Independent on Sunday, media buyers have been shown dummy editions of an A3 format of the newspaper, which would typically contain three main stories on the front page along with a picture.
Originally, the plan was to introduce a Berliner format in 2006, but Publicis Groupe's Starcom has said that the Guardian Media Group wants to bring it forward to autumn this year. Another unnamed media buyer, quoted by the IoS, said executives want the launch to happen as early as late summer.
However, there could be technical difficulties in making the switch so soon. GMG is investing £50m in the move to a smaller format, which is likely to take place in one fell swoop, rather than being introduced gradually like The Independent and The Times.
The newspaper is suffering from falling circulation, most recently losing 2.7% in February to record daily sales of 366,645.
By contrast, the tabloid Independent is on the rise, seeing circulation up almost 2.5% in the same month, and by over 9% when compared with last year at 263,595 copies.
Likewise The Times has had some benefits since it went compact. It was down just 1.04% to 679,190, but did not slip as much as The Telegraph, which dipped 1.46% to 907,329.
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