Coca-Cola is aiming to tap into youth culture with a series of viral ads that will be distributed via social networking websites such as MySpace.com.

The virals, which use feature edgy animated sequences, mark a radical departure for Coke, a company firmly associated with slickly produced, family-friendly television advertising.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola said that was the first time the company had developed this kind of web-specific content as part of a global push.

The four virals, which are each between 15 to 20 seconds in length, have been purpose-made for the internet in a bid to better engage with the young people, who were once the backbone of the company's sales.

Coca-Cola has struggled in recent years as consumers have turned away from sugary carbonated drinks to healthier beverages.

The virals, which are likely to be seeded through European websites such as MTV, are accessed by clicking on a small image of a Coke bottle.

They form part of a wider global campaign, all developed by Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, using the catchline "Coke side of life".

Last year the company pledged a further $400m (£225m) to advertising as part of a strategy to spend its way out of a sales decline.

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