Karen Dunbar and Sanjeev Kohli settled down for a chat on the world's longest sofa yesterday as they launched a fundraising bid for Maggie's Centres.

The sofa, which at 51.4 metres long stretches to around half the size of a football pitch, was assembled in George Square in Glasgow by staff from BoConcept store, which built the sofa.

It will also be on display today when shoppers will be encouraged to try it out for size and then "lose" some money down the back of the seat. All collections will go towards Maggie's Centres.

To mark The Herald's 225th anniversary, the newspaper is teaming up with the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres to invite readers to become a Herald Friend of Maggie's, either as an individual, as a group or as a company, to support the charity in 2008 and beyond.

Dunbar said: "Maggie's is a great charity that does so much good work. There is no easy way to cope with cancer without the help of a place like Maggie's. It is irreplaceable."

The red leather "Indivi2" sofa, which is recognised as the world's longest sofa by the Guinness World Records, was created in Denmark. It seats 104 people and, if sold as one piece, would cost £38,000.

"I never thought I'd sit on a sofa and not be able to see the other side," Kohli said. "The back of a sofa is a bit like a time capsule and I like the idea of people deliberately putting things down the back of a sofa for once."

Maggie's Centres were the brainchild of Maggie Keswick Jencks, an author and garden designer who, following her own cancer diagnosis, came up with the idea of providing a place of sanctuary for patients, their families, friends and carers. Each centre is known for its unique design, with Frank Gehry and Lord Richard Rogers among the centres' architects.

Richard Wingfield, store manager of BoConcept in Glasgow, said: "We want people to sit, relax and enjoy sitting on the sofa as well as give money to a great cause."

Meanwhile, staff at Dunfermline Building Society raised more than £3000 for Maggie's after taking part in the Maggie's Monster Bike and Hike challenge. The society's fund-matching policy boosted the final total raised to more than £6000.