MSN

According to reports from the UK that were breaking just as [itvt] went to press, Microsoft is set to launch a new MSN Video Player service in that country that will feature free, full-length programming. At launch, around 60 titles--including "Hustle," "League of Gentlemen," "Peep Show," "Shameless" and "The Young Ones"--totaling around 300 hours of programming will be available on the browser-based service, thanks to new deals that Microsoft has signed with BBC Worldwide and All3Media.

Microsoft's MSN service has teamed with Endemol UK and Pure Grass Films on an interactive sci-fi series, called "Kirill." The series consists of 10 three-minute episodes, hosted on MSN Video (it can be viewed in HD quality by downloading Microsoft Silverlight) and supplemented by various blogs, images, "secret" Web sites, and additional audio and video files scattered throughout the Internet. It tells the story of a man who is trying to make contact with a young woman who holds the key to the future of humanity, and it places various Microsoft products and services--including Vista, Live Search, Live Messenger, Live Spaces and MSN--at the crux of the story.