People's Daily, voice of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and self-claimed as 'the most influential newspaper' in the country, will expand its print edition into 20 broadsheet pages on Wednesday, the newspaper said Tuesday. Based on current 16 pages on weekdays, People's Daily will add three pages on domestic and international news, and one page to carry in-depth news reports, articles of theoretical studies, arts and literature reviews or literature works. The expansion, the fourth in the newspaper's 61 years of history, coincides with the 88th birthday of the CPC, which falls on Wednesday. This is an important step for the newspaper to 'enhance our news communication capacity both at home and abroad, and to meet increasing demands of all CPC members and our readers,' said the newspaper. Its weekend edition will remain at eight pages. The newspaper's website people.com.cn described itself as 'the most authoritative and influential paper in China,' among some 2,000 newspapers in the nation, and an important window for the world to observe and to understand China. It also plays a role as the voice of the CPC and the people, and as a bridge to facilitate communication between the Party and the public. People's Daily was launched as the publication of the CPC Central Committee one year before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Its daily circulation surpassed two million in 2007, and it has developed from the initial four-page publication into a media group, with more than 20 subsidiary publications including popular Global Times and its newly launched English edition. In recent years, the newspaper also embraced new media technology including the Internet and mobile telephones to extend its exposure to a global readership. 