They will run a joint page on the Facebook social networking site that will give media consumers direct access to the journalists and editors covering the UN summit and reactions in key countries.

The news agencies are seeking to use one of the most important international gatherings of the year to attract new readers and make them more directly involved with online news.

The Facebook page, called The Climate Pool, will provide behind-the-scenes reports of the event and links to the main text, photo and video coverage of summit. AFP will also provide blogs from other countries to give an outside view of the summit negotiations.

The Twitter micro blog will be used to attract followers.

AFP is taking part in The Climate Pool project with the ANP agency of the Netherlands, The Associated Press, APA of Austria, APcom of Italy, Canadian Press, DPA of Germany, Kyodo of Japan, Lusa of Portugal, Press Association of Britain and RIA of Russia.

The special page, which can be accessed at www.facebook.com/TheClimatePool, was set up by MINDS International, a global news agency network.

"The Climate Pool will provide a unique outlet for Internet users to discuss climate change with some of the world's most experienced journalists covering the conference," said Wolfgang Nedomansky, MINDS managing director.

AFP Executive Editor Philippe Massonnet said: "This experiment is also a way for news agencies from around the world to show they can coordinate their efforts to serve a common mission of professional news gathering of the highest standard."

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