Three months paid and three months unpaid leave will become available from April 2011.
At the moment, mothers can take nine months of paid maternity leave and three months unpaid. Under the plans, the second six months could be transferred to the father if the mother returns to work.
The paternity leave will be paid at £123.06 a week, the same as statutory maternity pay.
Adrienne Burgess, head of research at the Fatherhood Institute, called it a 'small step towards recognising the workings of modern families, where both parents work, fathers want to be more engaged with children, and mothers may earn more than their partner'.
However, she said she fears that very few fathers will take up the offer. 'Many won't be eligible and few of the rest will find it affordable. Payment of £123 per week for the first three months and no pay at all for the second will make it impossible.'
Ms Burgess said she would also like to see a change in the eligibility rules. Currently, a mother has to be eligible for maternity leave - for example, through having worked long enough with the same employer - and the father has to be eligible for paternity leave for similar reasons.
Dr Katherine Rake, chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute, welcomed the recognition by the Government that 'fathers as well as mothers want time off work to care for their baby'.
However, she also voiced fears that not many will take up the leave, as nearly half of new fathers fail to take the two weeks paternity leave they are already entitled to.
Dr Rake said, 'We are concerned that £123 will not be enough to entice fathers, as it could mean a huge loss of income at the very time when more money is needed to support the family.'
