The tabloid version will be sold side by side with the broadsheet edition and it will carry identical content and advertising to the broadsheet Monday to Friday, leaving the Saturday and Sunday versions untouched.
There had been speculation that there would be a price differential to encourage new readers to trial the tabloid, but it will in fact sell for the same price of 60p. The paper will have an initial print run of 85,000 copies and be sold from Monday to Friday within the M25.
The launch is being backed by a £3m marketing campaign, including television advertising created by Walsh Trott Chick Smith and featuring the tagline "No less Independent".
The Independent denied that it was the first move in a dumbing-down process, or that it was planning to ditch its broadsheet format altogether.
Lawrie Procter, commercial director of The Independent, said: "The content is exactly the same, it's not a move downmarket."
The launch follows research by The Independent showing that commuters, female readers and younger readers have all said that they would prefer a smaller format.
Procter said that it would show that The Independent was innovative, bringing something new to the market.
"We're trying to do something new and exciting that's never been done before," he said.
The move has been welcomed by media buyers, who say that even if the investment fails to add tens of thousands of readers, it will help position the paper as innovative and increase exposure.
Greg Grimmer, commercial director at the ZenithOptimedia, said: "It's a bright, intelligent move. With The Independent being the smallest of the national newspapers, they need to be innovative to stay front of mind. This move will ensure readers and advertisers reappraise the brand and the product."
If the move is successful for The Independent, bets are on to see how quickly rivals will launch their own "commuter" papers.
The Independent is also relaunching its Friday Review section as a magazine on the arts and entertainment. It will run to 36 pages with the first issue appearing on October 3.
Procter said that there were discussions with the Audit Bureau of Circulation about how the newspaper would be audited following the tabloid launch, but no final decision had been reached.
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