The paper broke from its traditional format for one day only

A Belgian French-language daily has issued what is thought to be Europe's first 3D newspaper - complete with cardboard viewing glasses.

All the photos and ads in La Derniere Heure's (DH) special edition were given a three-dimensional effect, but the text remained the same.

DH's editor said there were no further 3D plans due to the costs involved.

Reviewers in France saluted the paper's "bold initiative" but called the overall result "far from perfect".

'3D challenge'

Editor Hubert Leclercq said it took two months to prepare the special edition, which had a higher than normal print run of 115,000 copies for the newsstands.

"We hear about 3D cinema, television and video games, so we took up the challenge," Mr Leclercq told the AFP news agency.

According to PC World's French edition, readers could obtain the best results by holding the paper 50cm (20in) from the eyes in a well-lit area.

"It takes a few minutes to get used to pictures in 3D," it said, noting the limited quality of the disposable viewing lenses.

It said some of the images - especially the ads - had a good 3D relief effect, but that other pictures were blurry or difficult to focus on.