Hollywood opening on net

Hollywood movie studios are fighting back against online piracy with the launch of a service allowing fans to download films over the internet on to their computers.

The venture, Movielink, formed by five of the biggest studios last year, went online yesterday and will be watched eagerly by Hollywood executives fearing the same kind of internet piracy that has hobbled the music industry.

The service is backed by Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Warner Bros. Disney and Rupert Murdoch's 20th Century Fox are the notable absentees.

Movielink faces certain barriers. It remains to be seen whether couch potatoes will sit in front of a computer screen to watch a film and it can take up to four hours to download a title, depending on how fast the connection is. The quality is roughly the same as a VHS tape.

Since Movielink was first announced in August last year, the cable television networks have also launched video-on-demand services allowing subscribers to watch a film whenever they want.

But the company points to the growing number of people already using file-sharing software like Kazaa and Morpheus to download unauthorised films as evidence that the market is there. It is estimated that 500,000 bootlegged films a day are downloaded illegally. Watching film trailers is also one of the most popular uses of the internet.

"The service is easy to use, titles are never out of stock and movies can be viewed anywhere using a consumer's laptop," said Movielink chief executive Jim Ramo.

Movielink will initially only be available to people in the US but if successful could be rolled out in Europe.

Once downloaded, the film stays on a hard drive for 30 days, which means travellers can watch the film on a train journey or flight. After downloading and pressing play, a film can be viewed as many times as a buyer wants over a 24-hour period.

Initially 175 film titles will be available including the Oscar winning A Beautiful Mind, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ocean's Eleven and classics such as Breakfast at Tiffany's.