The First Minister is to launch the consultation for a referendum on Scottish independence at Holyrood on Wednesday afternoon.
Alex Salmond will outline the Government's proposals for running the referendum in a statement to parliament just after 1.30pm.
Afterwards, Mr Salmond will hold a press conference in the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle accompanied by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Government Strategy Secretary Bruce Crawford.
The SNP leader is reportedly considering holding the independence referendum on a Saturday in a bid to boost voter turnout. The SNP also plans to give 16 and 17-year-olds the opportunity to vote in the referendum, which is set to take place in autumn 2014.
Humza Yousaf, the party's youngest MSP, said: "The vote on Scotland's constitutional future will be one of the biggest decisions we will ever make as a country. It will be a truly historic day when people are given the chance to choose independence and equality for their country.
"That is why I welcome looking at options on how to boost the number of people who vote and I look forward to hearing the details when the First Minister announces the consultation document on Wednesday."
On the consultation itself, he said: "This document will give people the chance to judge the Scottish Government's proposals and submit their views on how they want the referendum to be run. But we firmly believe the referendum must be built in Scotland and the decision must be made by the people of Scotland.
"It will be a defining point in Scotland's history so it is vital that those from all political sides in this country are given the best opportunity to come and make their voices heard."
A Scottish Government spokesman added: "We will set out our detailed proposals for running the referendum in the consultation document we are publishing on Wednesday, which will be entirely fair and people can judge them and submit their views."
Speaking in London on Tuesday night, Mr Salmond said the process of making the decision on independence would be determined in Scotland.
He said: "I am certain that the days of Westminster politicians with a shaky mandate in Scotland - actually a non-existent mandate in Scotland - determining the means by which Scotland will decide its own future, I think these days have gone."
The First Minister added that politicians in Westminster had a "proprietorial resentment" about Scotland becoming "a normal independent country" that was not shared by many English people.
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said that the coalition Government was prepared to work with the Holyrood administration to achieve a legally-binding referendum.
He said: "Two weeks ago, our Government published plans on how to create a legal, fair and decisive referendum on Scottish independence. Once the Scottish Government publish their plans the way should be clear for us to have serious discussions, right here in Scotland, about how we make such a referendum happen.
"I want the Scottish Government paper to have a clear acknowledgement that a legal referendum is in the interests of the Scottish people and that the two Governments should work together to achieve that. I also hope they will confirm that they support a simple yes-no question on independence. That is what people expect. I also hope that if the Scottish Government continue to put forward their preference of Autumn 2014 for a referendum that they will justify why they want three more years of delay and economic uncertainty.
"Everyone wants to have a referendum that avoids a courtroom wrangle. Everyone in Scotland expects to have a referendum that follows the normal and fair rules we associate with a referendum. We should not start re-writing the rule book in the run up to the most important decision Scotland will ever make."
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