Pope to launch news portal

The Pope will this week launch a new web portal making it easier to access all Vatican news online, officials said on Monday. "news.va" will go live on Wednesday, launched by Pope Benedict XVI, as a sign of his personal interest in communication with the modern world, said Claudio Maria Celli from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The portal will give users access to news and pictures from the Vatican's radio and TV stations and the Osservatore Romano newspaper. "The initiative underlines and strengthens the collaboration between the Holy See media," said the newspaper's director Giovanni Maria Vian. "Contrary to the stereotype, the pope and the secretariat of state are very open to communications. The portal will initially appear in English and Italian with plans to include a third language, probably Spanish, after the summer.