Virgin Radio, owned by SMG Radio, will run the technical and advertising divisions of the joint venture, while IPC Ignite!, the men's lifestyle division of IPC, will provide the editorial experience for NME Radio. IPC was bought by AOL Time Warner for £1.15bn last month.
NME Radio will launch as a 24-7 online radio service and will also be available on Switchdigital, a data service on London's Digital Multiplex, where listeners with Psion Wavefinders will be able to tune in on their handheld devices.
The launch of the online station is the first step in IPC's plans to expand the NME brand into wider media.