The launch of a free late edition of the Manchester Evening News has enjoyed a pleasing start, according to editor Paul Horrocks.

When MEN Lite hit the streets for the first time on Monday, its 3,000 copies were picked up within half an hour.

The new commuter edition is aimed at those who do not buy any newspaper as they leave the city centre each evening, and is being hand distributed at tram and bus stops and railway stations after 4.30pm each day.

Three thousand copies were also given away on Tuesday, and by next Tuesday this will have increased to 10,000 copies a night.

It is anticipated that as people become more familiar with the Lite distribution will move to pick up bins.

Paul said: "The reaction to it has been positive and we have been pleased with the first products. The Lite has up to 48 pages, 40 of which are colour, which makes a tremendous difference.

"At first people wondered what the paper was, but we've printed an explanation on page two and we now expect it to become part of the routine of communters going home."

Paul said it was too early to tell what effect the new free had had on sales of the earlier three paid-for editions, available at 6am, late morning and early afternoon.

But he said that the fourth paid-for edition of the MEN - which the Lite has now completely replaced - had sold up to 10,000 copies a night, only 2,000 to 3,000 of which were sold in the inner city area that the Lite now serves.

He said: "We will we be looking at its effect on the MEN in the coming weeks and will act accordingly.

"The good thing about free newspapers is that you can increase and decrease distribution.

"Around 150,000 people come into the city each day, and more than half of these use public transport - which means there are a lot of people who aren't reading a paper on their way home.

"This is the audience we want to reach and hopefully it won't attack our sale."

The MEN Lite has up to 48 pages each day, including 12 pages of news. It also includes a mix of entertainment, quizzes and a business summary and three pages of sport at the back.

The paid-for MEN has up to 96 pages a day, including sport in a centre pull-out and TV listings on the back.