EastEnders to launch online spin-off

Albert Square, the setting of the BBC One soap EastEnders, is set to go online next year with new cast members and storylines.

The spin-off, called EastEnders: E20 after the fictional soap setting's postcode, has been written by 13 London writers aged between 17 and 22.

The online series will follow four new teenage characters who arrive in Walford, each searching for an escape from their regular lives.

The show will feature unique storylines so that viewers who don't watch EastEnders can still watch the E20 version. There will be some crossover, though, for regular fans of both.

The writers are also creating extra online material for the E20 characters including video blogs and behind-the-scenes footage.

Last week, Digital Inclusion Champion Martha Lane Fox suggested that soaps should run more storylines that involve characters using the internet to get more people interested in the web.