Comic Relief is hosting two Google+ Hangouts this month during which an online audience will decide how much to donate depending on how much comedians make them laugh.

The first known-fundraising event by a British charity on the Google+ Hangouts service, which enables multiple participants to join in a live online video conversation, is outside the typical activity and schedule of Comic Relief's flagship campaigns, Sports Relief and Red Nose Day.

Promoting itself as a second chance for a comedy fix for those who can’t get to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this month, Comic Relief’s Hangout Comedy Club will be hosted by Google+ and YouTube.

Google has also developed a Laughometer to aid Comic Relief in its fundraising. Using face recognition software it will measure your smile and translate how much it is worth – suggesting an amount of money to donate at the end of the show.

The Laughometer will decide just how much cash your enjoyment of the show is worth, but donation is optional.

Katherine Ryan, a Canadian writer and performer, will be the first to try out this new audience medium on 8 August. Sanderson Jones will follow her a week  later, performing from the Fringe Festival live.

Ryan expressed her excitement about the gig. “I am passionate about staying at home in my pants," she said. "Now I can combine that passion with comedy and charity.”

Google+ Hangouts is designed to be a free-to-use, universal video conferencing tool for anyone with a webcam and a Google+ account. The software will allow you to join the gig either anonymously in the ‘back row’ or with eight other people in the ‘front row’ where you will be able to interact personally with the comedian.