The following is the text of the brief we used to solicit ideas.

The Economist Group doesn’t have much time for astrology or tea leaves, but if you can see the future we want to hear from you. This is a call to send in your idea (or ideas) about truly innovative services we could offer online.These are times of rapid change, that’s why The Economist Group has set up an innovation team, called “Project Red Stripe”.

In a nutshell, The Economist Group has picked a small team of employees, moved them to London, and allowed them to come up with whatever they want, even something entirely unrelated to The Economist Group – as long as it is innovative and online (for details go here).

We already have some ideas, of course. But as champions of free markets, we abhor the concept of a closed system. This is why we would like you to submit your idea by filling out the form at ProjectRedStripe.com. The deadline is March 25th, 2007.

Your idea can be as simple or complex as you like. It could be a product, a service or a business model. Before you jot your idea down, think about how best to describe it (here are some hints for doing this). If you want to track our progress, please visit our blog, where we would love to hear from you.

By submitting an idea you agree to our terms and conditions. If we use your contribution we’ll give you credit on ProjectRedStripe.com and, as a small token of our appreciation, a free six-month gift subscription to Economist.com. More importantly, we may also choose to involve you further if you have made significant contributions to the project.

So by submitting your idea you will become part of a fascinating project in innovation. Start polishing your crystal ball - and tell us what the future holds for The Economist Group.

Submit your idea now.