(28 December 2005 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: A Slovenian edition of National Geographic magazine will launch in May 2006. This broadens the international reach of the magazine with 30 language editions.

The Slovenian edition will be published by Rokus Publishing, publisher of National Geographic Junior magazine in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, and a number of National Geographic books.

National Geographic Society President John Fahey says, "Giving people a window to the world in their own language through National Geographic's incomparable photographs and storytelling is a compelling way to extend the Society's mission to educate and inspire".

Published under license from the National Geographic Society, the new Slovenian edition, like the 28 other local-language editions of the magazine, will follow closely the editorial content of the English-language original. It will be produced to the exacting standards of the Society, in the same format with the familiar yellow-bordered cover.

The official journal of the 117-year-old National Geographic Society provides editorial coverage of cultures, nature, science and technology. The magazine claims to have a total circulation of around 8.5 million, and is read in every country of the world.