Two big magazine launches this week could roil the waters in some major magazine categories. On Thursday British publisher Richard Desmond will try to extend his publishing empire with a launch of an American version of the celebrity weekly OK! And on Tuesday, Hearst, publisher of Good Housekeeping and Redbook, launched its first women’s weekly, called Quick & Simple.

Launching a weekly is a major investment for a publishing company. Hearst has not disclosed what it plans to spend on Quick & Simple, but Mr. Desmond has reportedly pledged to invest $100 million over six years to make OK! a success. A hefty 1.3 million copies of the debut issue will be distributed nationwide.

OK! claims it is Britain’s leading celebrity weekly, and 10 editions of the magazine are published in various countries throughout the world. The celebrity magazine field in the United States has becoming increasingly crowded and competitive, but that doesn’t seem to bother the chief executive officer for OK! in North America, Christian Toksvig.

“OK! was the number one celebrity magazine when they were only two such magazines in Great Britain,” he said. “Now there are nine, and we are still number one. We really believe there is room in the American market. We think that the tabloids are fading and that there are lots of young women readers who want a more aspirational magazine.”

OK! has managed to secure 110,000 magazine racks at checkouts in supermarkets and retail stores. “Don’t believe the stories that say we overpaid for these racks,” Mr. Toksvig said. “We paid the going rate. What we did was show retailers the magazine, and they were very enthusiastic.” He said the racks OK! took over previously held weekly tabloids.

Several things make OK! different from American celebrity magazines. First, unlike its competitors, it is oversized. Second – and most significant – editors will pay for access to celebrities in their homes, at their weddings, and parties. This is something American celebrity editors claim they do not do. (American celebrity magazines have paid for pictures that celebrities agreed to have taken, though; they also frequently give publicists approval of the writer who will be interviewing a celebrity and the photographer who will be taking his or her picture.)

The other difference is the publisher, 52-year-old Richard Desmond. He is more colorful – he once published hardcore “adult magazines” – and better paid than even the most famous of American publishers. His net worth is £1.3 billion ($2.3 billion). Last year, he paid himself £1 million a week, more than £40 million more than his rival, media baron Rupert Murdoch, receives.

Although Mr. Desmond is not in the United States this week, Mr. Toksvig said, “He is not just a money man. He has a real eye for editorial. He is always checking the cover for the British edition of OK!” It has been said that Mr. Desmond offered $2 million for wedding photos of Paris Hilton and has been in negotiations with Michael Jackson for a visit to Neverland and his first post-trial interview. So is Mr. Jackson in the first issue of the magazine? “Unfortunately, no,” Mr. Toksvig insisted. But there is always next week.

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This week’s other launch, Quick & Simple, is an Americanized copy of the down-market women’s weeklies that have always been popular in Britain, and in most of Europe and Australia. Traditionally, in much of the world, women’s magazines have fallen into two categories: up-market monthlies, with high-quality paper and elegant graphics that focus on beauty and fashion, and down-market, brightly colored rotogravure weeklies filled with money-saving tips and cozy housekeeping how-tos.

America is unique because our largest-circulation women’s magazines have been middle-market monthlies. But more than a decade ago the German publisher Bauer launched, in America, Woman’s World. Though our traditional women’s magazines did not look at that tip-filled weekly as a direct competitor, Woman’s World has proved to be remarkably popular and resilient.

While many women’s magazines saw significant drop-offs in newsstand sales during the past few years, Woman’s World has continued to sell more than 1.5 million copies every week on the newsstand. So it’s not surprising that some major companies have finally decided to imitate an editorial formula that seems to work. Last year Time Inc., publisher of InStyle and Real Simple, launched All You, which is sold only in Wal-Mart. Hachette Filipacchi, publisher of Elle and Woman’s Day, launched For Me for younger women. Although both are monthlies, they have the look of the European weeklies – lots of bright graphics, very short, easy-to-read features, a new diet in almost every issue, not much advertising, a low cover price, and lots and lots of tips.

By publishing Quick & Simple, Hearst has copied not only the formula but the frequency of these magazines’ European models. Starting October 4, the publication will be a weekly. In its launch issue, its cover price is $1.49 and 500,000 copies are being distributed. “There will be no more than eight advertisements in each issue,” the publisher, Bernadette Haley, said.

In the first 60-page issue there are ads for Wishbone salad dressing and Raisin Bran cereal bars. “Advertisers have been very positive – and so have women in focus groups,” Ms. Haley said. Could Quick & Simple affect the circulation of other women’s magazines, like Hearst’s Good Housekeeping or Redbook? “Women said that they would buy it in addition because it is so easy to carry around,” Ms. Haley claimed. “And at only $1.49, they said buying it was a no-brainer.”

Editor in chief Susan Toepfer, who previously worked at People magazine and was briefly editor in chief of Rosie, said: “I have been thinking about doing a magazine like this for years. We have all been influenced by getting information on the Internet, and that’s what I think women want in a magazine today, too – very quick, easy-to-find information.”

But what is in the magazine? No surprises: two-minute hair-styling tricks, a fast-food lovers’ diet, basic menu suggestions like serving rice and salad with rotisserie chicken, and some rather off-putting at-home beauty remedies. For example, Quick & Simple suggests what readers should do to cure under-eye circles: “Make a paste of one teaspoon of tomato juice, one half teaspoon of lemon juice, one pinch of tumeric and one teaspoon of flour. Apply around eyes and leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing.”

Maybe it works, but do you really want to try that?