A condensed version of The Independent, i, will have a cover price of just 20p and will target "readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers". It will also be available as a paid for iPad application.

According to Independent editor-in-chief Simon Kelner, newspaper readers are suffering from information overload and i will give them a "comprehensive digest of the news".

Evgeny Lebedev, chairman of Independent Print, said: "I am very proud to launch i. We have shown by our investment in the Evening Standard that it is possible to revive a brand, and we aim to do the same with The Independent."

The title will go on sale for the first time next Tuesday (26 October).

When Lebedev bought the Independent this year, it was speculated that he would turn the publication into the country's first truly national freesheet, after he scrapped the cover price of the Evening Standard last year. However, this launch indicates that he may be following Rupert Murdoch in a u-turn back into paid for publications.