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The online edition of The Wall Street Journal reveals its new look

this week, following a $28 million (£19.5m) overhaul.

It is hoped that the revamp, which has taken 12 months to complete, will

help increase WSJ.com's audience to the same level as its print

version.

At the end of 2001, WSJ.com had 626,000 subscribers, up from 609,000 in

the previous quarter. About 10 per cent of these originate from outside

the US, mostly from Europe.

Publisher Neil Budde revealed that subscription charges will rise later

this year, by about $20 (£14) for access to WSJ.com, and

$10 (£7) to access the site for those who also take the

print edition of the newspaper.

It currently costs subscribers $59 (£41) for the standalone

product, or $29 (£20) for a combined subscription.

Budde added: "UK subscribers grew 20 per cent year-on-year in the fourth

quarter of 2001. This exceeds the 17 per cent overall growth

figure."

The new site (www.wsj.com) still has three regionalised entry points -

the US, Asia and Europe - but will offer a more integrated service,

based on individual preferences.

Budde explained: "The previous system was built incrementally and it

became more difficult to evolve it than starting again from

scratch."

Dow Jones, publisher of WSJ.com, has pumped $139m (£97m)

into the site to date.