Reuters to stream footage of conflict in Iraq

News agency Reuters has unveiled a streaming video service on its website that will offer footage of the impending conflict with Iraq, in an effort to reach news-hungry viewers at work.

Called Reuters Raw Video, the free service will stream footage of the campaign in Iraq without narration, which is widely expected to begin within the next few days. Footage will be streamed 24 hours a day on Reuters.com, and the service will include other breaking news such as news conferences and government briefings. Reuters will also make the service available to users of its proprietary service.

The launch, announced on Wednesday, comes as news sites gear up for what seems to be an inevitable invasion of Iraq, and with people increasingly turning to the web for breaking news during work hours.

During events such as the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and the US military's subsequent strike into Afghanistan, popular news websites such as CNN.com, BBC.co.uk, Yahoo News, MSNBC.com and ABCNews.com witnessed traffic spike exponentially, sometimes crippling their services.

The use of streaming video is also playing a heightened role during significant news coverage. After the 11 September, the web was filled with amateur video footage chronicling the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York.

Reuters isn't the only news service launching around-the-clock coverage on its website. Last week, ABCNews.com launched a subscription video service called 'ABC News Live' in a bid to offer news broadcasts to people at work without access to a TV set.

For Reuters, the Wednesday launch comes amid an ongoing push to rekindle its web strategy. Last autumn, the company relaunched Reuters.com in an attempt to attract investors who are not subscribers to its proprietary terminals.

Jim Hu writes for CNET News.com.