Hollywood movies: coming to a Web site near you

Miramax has signed an agreement with SightSound.com to offer feature length movies for download via the Internet.

The Hollywood studio has signed an agreement with the Pennsylvanian company to release up to 12 movies on online.

The arrangement is an experiment to test customers' willingness to pay for movies online. The deal will appeal to users with high-speed Internet connections: an average 90 minute film will take about 15 to 20 minutes to download on a DSL or cable modem. The same film will take up to 10 hours on a 56k dial-up connection.

The quality of the film should be close to VHS, and will only be available for viewing for one day. After that, the files will become disabled.

Traditional film distributors may not see Miramax's venture as a threat. Technology is still lagging behind as most home surfers use 56K or lower speed modems.

A spokesman for UGC cinemas - formerly Virgin Cinemas - said: "Despite the advent of home videos and digital television, cinema admissions have continued to increase annually in recent years. We do not see Miramax's announcement as a serious threat to film distributors."

Jennifer Pesci, marketing manager from SightSound.com, said: "The movie can travel, you can watch a film off-line for instance on a plane or in a car."

Pesci believes there is room for multi-dimensional film distribution. She insisted: "The dumbest PC will always be smarter than a TV."

In the meantime, the films will only be available in the US to protect against privacy abroad.