A joint venture between Square and Shueisha is set to result in the establishment of a new company specializing in the digitalization of manga. The focus of the new company will be to digitalize and deliver the manga serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for online viewing via Square's PlayOnline.

Details on the new project are currently sketchy, a tentative timeframe of Spring 2001 being set for the framework of the company to be put into place, but it's planned for the digitalized Weekly Shonen Jump content to be provided online for PlayOnline users weekly on Fridays, only several days after its corresponding print publication. A representative from Square's PR department said, "We haven't decided any of the details, including things like how users will browse the manga, or even the fee. All we can say now is, we will start providing online manga after establishing the new company's framework, so please look forward to it."

PlayOnline is a new network service from Square set to provide a wide range of media and information, not only focusing on their online games, but also on music, manga, and other topics of potential interest to their users. A 2002 launch of the service is planned for North America featuring online gaming for titles like Final Fantasy XI. For those who simply can't wait that long for a taste of what's to come, head on over to PlayOnline for more information on the service. Square is currently offering a free Vivi doll from Final Fantasy IX to those that register. The time it takes to fill out the registration form is well worth wasting for a free Vivi doll, no?

Weekly Shonen Jump is a prominent manga publication in Japan, leading competing magazines, like Weekly Shonen Sunday, with a weekly circulation of 5.8 million copies. As the name implies, issues are published weekly on Mondays, the content appealing primarily to a young male demographic. Among the more popular manga previously serialized in the magazine are Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk and Video Girl Ai, while some of its current selection includes titles like Houshin Engi, Hunter X Hunter and the highly enjoyable One Piece - Monkey D. Ruffy may be no fancy pansed Guybrush Threepwood as far as pirates go, but his elasticity certainly makes for some entertaining combat!