World's oldest newspaper now exists only online

As a growing sign of the times we live in, the world's oldest
newspaper, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, still in circulation, has dropped
its paper edition and now exists only in cyberspace.

Founded in 1645 by Sweden's Queen Kristina, it became a
Web-only publication on January 1, when it ended its print edition, a report in
AP said.

It has been a long journey for a newspaper started by the queen
to keep her subjects informed of the affairs of state. The first editions, which
were more like pamphlets, were carried by courier and posted on note boards in
cities and towns throughout the kingdom.

Today, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, which means "mail
and domestic tidings," runs legal announcements by corporations, courts and
certain government agencies-about 1,500 a day.The print edition of the paper
has not been a bestseller and had a circulation of only around 1,000 although
the web site is expected to garner more readerships.

The newspaper is owned by the Swedish Academy, known for
awarding the annual Nobel Prize in Literature, but the publishing rights were
sold recently to the Swedish Companies Registration Office, a government agency.

It is oldest newspapers still in circulation compiled by the
Paris-based World Association of Newspapers.