New RSS reading services have been launching left and right ever since Google announced its plans to kill Reader on July 1st, but one of the most interesting options is coming from a rather unlikely source, the resurrected social news platform Digg. Digg revealed its plans to offer an RSS reader shortly after Google's announcement in March, and now it says that a beta version of the service will be available in June. That's good, because if Digg is going to capture the remaining RSS addicts that haven't switched to a new service yet, it's going to want to have its product launch before Reader shuts down.

According to the company's informal, survey-based research, a large number of respondents (40 percent of the 8,600 participants) are willing to pay for a proper Google Reader replacement, even though Reader was available for free. Digg also found that Google Reader's old social features aren't a priority for many people, and that over a third of respondents didn't use a read-later service such as Pocket or Instapaper. Despite that, though Digg says its product might not have robust social features at launch, it considers them a priority and plans to offer them at some point in the future. It also plans to support Pocket, Instapaper, Evernote, and Readability as read-later options. The app will also offer the ability to share stories via email and major social networks.

Digg's service will have plenty of competition

While Google Reader was the dominant RSS reading tool for years, its eventual disappearance has created a boom in alternative services. Digg's RSS reader will be competing with popular up-and-coming free services such as Feedly and paid options such as Feedbin, as well as the just-launched Feed Wrangler. We still don't know what the best option for Google Reader lovers will be, but it's safe to say there will be plenty to choose from come July 1st.