Nature Publishing Group is to provide free access to more than 65 of its journals to developing world countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Journals including the flagship publication Nature will be made available to more than 20 partner countries through the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP).

David Hoole, head of content licensing at NPG, said: “(We) have long been a supporter of INASP and we are delighted to be able to expand our relationship in this way.

“Making our biomedical journals available to these developing countries fits with NPG’s commitment to serve the scientific and medical communities around the world.”

Through its Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information, INASP works with publishers in the developed world to improve access to their publications within developing and emerging countries.

“The impact of the possibilities afforded by digital libraries for researchers in developing countries continues to grow,” said Lucy Browse, head of information delivery at INASP.

“We are very pleased to be able to include NPG amongst the publishers who support sustainable access to their journals, e-books and databases.”

In other international developments for the publisher last month, NPG announced five new co-publishing agreements in Japan and China next year. The moves follow recent launches of Nature China and Nature India websites.

An NPG statement said the moves “mark the next steps in NPG’s broader strategy to publish the best research in the Asia-Pacific region”.

“It is a tremendous boon to NPG to be announcing this collection of new initiatives in the region,” said David Swinbanks, CEO of NPG Nature Asia-Pacific.

“By building on the reputations of these five international journals…we can publish and highlight some of the best research from the region in the life, medical, chemical and physical sciences and communicate it to the relevant communities around the world.”