A leaflet on the so-called Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest Bibles, laying on top of a glass case displaying an original page of the manuscript at Leipzig University in eastern Germany. The Codex Sinaiticus, discovered in Egypt in the 19th century, is to be made available online this week, the university library has said. [Photo: Xinhua/AFP]

One of the oldest copies of the Bible, written on calfskin parchment in the 4th century and discovered in Egypt in the 19th, catches up with the digital age, and can be read online for the first time this week, according to media reports.

The University of Leipzig in Germany said more than 100 pages of the Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the oldest complete New Testament, will be available on the Internet from Thursday.

High resolution photographs of the Gospel of Mark, Old Testament books and original comments on the text will be available on the project website (www.codex-sinaiticus.net).

Ulrich Johannes Schneider, director of Leipzig University Library, said the publication would allow anyone to study a work of fundamental importance to Christians.

"A manuscript is going onto the Net which is like nothing else online to date," Schneider said, "It's also an enrichment of the virtual world."

English and German translations will be offered to people who are not able to read Greek.

The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the two most ancient copies of the entire Bible in Greek. The other is called the Codex Vaticanus.