This weekend sees the launch of Mochila, an online content marketplace where newspapers, broadcasters and websites can sell their content to other media businesses.

The idea behind the site is simple. Buying publishers sign up for free, search for the kind of content they want and purchase it directly from the producer; Content creators, in turn, set their own fees and also determine what sort of market they want to sell their work in. They can then track how many viewers have read their editorial, even once it has been sold.

Mochila takes a "better than 50 percent cut" of each sale, according to an overview of the service in the International Herald Tribune.

The model bears a very close similarity to Correspondent.com, the online marketplace for journalists and editors created by the European Press Network in 2000. While Correspondent.com was aimed at freelance journalists hoping to sell or syndicate their work, however, Mochila is targeting newspapers, magazines and websites who want to sell on to other markets. Mochila sells photos as well as text, and hopes to move into audio and video later.

Mochila also caters for buyers who would prefer to pay for their content with advertising. Rather than fork out for stories and photos, they can chose to accept related advertising from Mochila - and can also get a share in ad revenue from the online ads.

Mochila's bosses are selling the service as an alternative to newswires. They've lured big players like Metro International, the free newspaper company, plus the US wing of Hachette Filipacchi, which will offer content from a range of consumer magazines for sale. Several local newspaper publishers, business and tech publications have also signed up.

A Mochila, by the way, is a kind of bag, used by Pony Express couriers to transport mail back in the 19th century.

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