The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has warned of an uncensored content loophole and wants to extend its reach to police new media content on the internet. The independent organisation, charged with regulating British films, DVDs and video games, has claimed that the internet is currently a loophole in its censorship powers to ban inappropriate material.

Reports are being received that BSkyB and BT are both interested in bidding for AOL's UK internet operations. AOL is the third largest broadband provider in the country. About one billion is said to be the asking price, but it's thought the two media are not likely to want to stump up so much for the extra business the isp could bring them. Providing broadband services is now becoming a commodity market and fiercely competitive. Time Warner recently put its UK operations up for sale and expressions of interest are being sought from bidders

In a re-run of the Betamax v VHS videotape wars, the adult industry could again be the decider in the Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD contest to replace DVDs for high-definition content.

With more than 10 million UK households now using broadband Internet access, these findings suggest great potential for the online distribution of video content," said Martin Olausson, an analyst with Strategy Analytics. "As the base of users grows, access speeds increase, and the range of video available online expands to include more premium content, such as recent movies.

$499 and $799 players from Toshiba, as well as four movies, are now available to buy across the US at all Best Buy stores and select Sears, Wal-Mart, Costco and Tweeters in America. The first four HD disc titles are Serenity, Million Dollar Baby, The Last Samurai and Phantom of the Opera.

One in five British adults will watch 20-minutes of TV a day on their computers and mobile phones by 2010 according to industry research body Barb. New forms of TV viewing will grow including video on demand and PVRs.

Samsung will delay the US launch of its Blu-ray Disc player by one month. The delay has been called to allow compatibility testing with Blu-ray Disc test media due in April, Samsung said. Once compatibility is confirmed the player will be ready for mass production, it said.

Former BBC Broadcast playout and media services subsidiary Red Bee, has launched a concept called Digital Hive in Cannes. The company claims it can digitise, manage, re-purpose and deliver content to any platform in any language.