How does Wikipedia on paper sound like? Maybe strange, but not for the German publisher Bertelsmann, who unveiled on Wednesday its plans to publish an encyclopedia based on the famous web site. Germans could expect to buy the book this September for €19.95.

Although many of us may be reluctant to the idea (after all, Wikipedia is about searching, editing and updating), Kul Wadhva, head of business development for the Wikimedia Foundation, told the San Francisco Chronicle: “This is groundbreaking,” said Wadhva. “Getting a big publishing powerhouse like Bertelsmann behind this is a success in and of itself.”

The book is said to cover around 50,000 Wikipedia articles in almost 1,000 pages, and its content is expected to have a positive impact on the reader, considering that the article selection will be based on popularity, a Bertelsmann spokesperson said.

“The Wikipedia encyclopedia will help allow knowledge to be spread worldwide and become more accessible,” the publishing director at Bertelsmann Lexicon, Beate Varnhorn, said in a statement. “The abridged, one-volume print edition will reach new target groups which will get to know the Wikipedia project and take part in it.”

The German publisher hopes to revive the book, which is said to be a lost cause, in a world where Internet has the lead. However, they are confident that the 1,000 page volume will prove pessimists wrong.

Before the publishing, the articles will be checked for errors, although the German version of Wikipedia is considered to be quite accurate, being the second largest in size after the original English version. One euro from every copy sold will go to the German chapter of Wikimedia, the non-profit group behind Wikipedia.