(Seychelles News Agency) - An up-to-date online text and photo news service offering all the latest information on the Seychelles islands will soon be a reality. The Seychelles Department of Information has announced in a press release that the Seychelles News Agency (SNA) is expected to officially launch at the end of April this year.

The SNA service will provide unique insight in both English and French on news, current affairs, diplomacy, lifestyle and culture in Seychelles and its progress as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS).

The agency will be headed by two experienced Seychellois co-editors, Rassin Vannier and Sharon Uranie, and supported by an extensive network of local and international freelance journalists.

The agency is the brainchild of the Honorary Consul for Seychelles in Bulgaria and owner of PR and social media corporation M3 Communications Group, Maxim Behar, who presented the idea to Seychelles President James Michel during an official visit in November 2013, along with an offer to donate the software and development of the agency’s website to Seychelles.

The project is currently in the web development stage and is expected to be completed for launch in April 2014.

A news agency is an organisation that gathers news for distribution to its subscribers and other media outlets, such as well-known international news agencies Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Xinhua and the Associated Press.