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Penguin, the book publisher, is launching a web-based collaborative novel that can be written, edited or read by anyone, anywhere thanks to wiki software, the technology behind web encyclopedia Wikipedia, writes Reuters.

The novel, "A Million Penguins," went live Thursday, and its first lines are being written and tweaked by enthusiasts of amillionpenguins.com. The novel is an experiment to see whether a diverse group of people can collectively create a "believable fictional voice."

There are no plans, yet, to publish the completed work; much probably depends on whether it's a success. The wiki would be online for at least six weeks. The publsher warns that the work is not a talent search, and says it's expecting a variety of tones and abilities.

"In an ideal world we could throw in a sense of plausibility, balance and humor," Penguin's blogger, Jon Elek, wrote in an entry earlier this week. "That's asking a lot, and in truth I'll be happy so long as it manages to avoid becoming some sort of robotic-zombie-assassins-against-African-ninjas-in-space-narrated-by-a-Papal-Tiara type of thing."