Channel 4 has announced plans to launch a new broadband comedy channel early next year.

4Laughs aims to provide "a platform for talented individuals to showcase their own comedy clips and sketches", allowing them to upload short films for other users to view and appraise.

The move follows the successful launch of FourDocs, a similar site offering fact-based clips.

"The success of FourDocs convinced us that an appetite exists for quality websites populated with user-generated content, and we wanted to extend this idea further," said Andy Grumbridge, managing editor of C4 New Media. "Comedy is the perfect genre for user-generated content and Channel 4's fantastic pedigree in comedy gives us genuine credibility to showcase other people's talent."