It will be the first time Time Out has had a UK city edition outside of London, with founder and chairman Tony Elliott reportedly saying that Liverpool is also being considered for a launch.
The Guardian Media Group-owned City Life closed in December after 22 years, prompting Time Out to reconsider the possibility of launching its second UK title in the city.
Manchester's reputation as a music city, and Liverpool's forthcoming European Capital of Culture status for 2008, have increased Time Out's interest in the north west, with a launch expected to cost around £1m per city.
However, Time Out recently expanded into Beirut, Chicago and Azerbaijan's largest city Almaty, and it is conscious of over-stretching itself financially. It also publishes editions in New York and San Francisco.
Time Out initially plans a one-off Manchester edition for mid-September, to be edited by former Loaded journalist Bill Burrows, with a view to rolling out in March 2007, if it is deemed a success.
City Life, which started life as the New Manchester Review, was bought by the Guardian Media Group, prompting it to shed its radical political editorial slant and become a conventional listings title.
The magazine announced in November 2005 that it was to close following a long struggle to return profits.
Time Out, which was first published in London in 1968, has 17 city editions worldwide. Time Out London has a circulation of 89,503.
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