The world's oldest newspaper, founded in 1645 by Sweden's Queen Kristina, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, has now stopped its paper edition and switched to a digital format via cyberspace.

Post-och Inrikes Tidningar stands for mail and domestic tidings in English.

``We think it's a cultural disaster,'' said Hans Holm, who kept a tenure of 20 years as the chief editor of Post-och Inrikes Tidningar. ``It is sad when you have worked with it for so long and it has been around for so long.''

Currently, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, publishes legal announcements by corporations, courts and government agencies numbering about 1,500 a day.

Queen Kristina had used the publication to keep her subjects informed of the affairs of state, Holm said, and the first editions, which were more like pamphlets, were carried by courier and posted on note boards in cities and towns throughout the kingdom.

The present editor, Olov Vikstrom, cited that the paper edition was not a mass-market tabloid but only had a meager circulation of only 1,000 or so.

The newspaper was formerly held by the Swedish Academy which later sold it to the government agency, Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Despite halting its paper edition, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar will still keep its rank as the oldest newspapers still in circulation according to the World Association of Newspapers.

``An online newspaper is still a newspaper, so we'll leave it on the list,'' WAN spokesman Larry Kilman said.