This new interactive TV service has been brought to market in less than 3 months, accelerated by leveraging AOL's existing experience in delivering mobile, WAP-based services and exploiting this experience with Sky's WapTV technology.

The service, which combines email, instant messaging plus simple text-based news and weather is available to existing AOL subscribers by pressing the red button whilst watching a Sky channel. Viewers log in using their existing AOL email address/screen name. Calls to the service are charged at the standard local rate - plus an initial 12 pence connection charge per call.

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MTV have enhanced this year's EMA's with a joint iTV/SMS based celebrity text chat service. The service is only available to viewers aged 16 plus and costs at least 50 pence per message sent - so a long chat conversation could end up being expensive!

Once registered on to the service with a nickname and their date of birth, viewers can send their messages to a guest chat host at the standard SMS rate (roughly 10-12 pence) however MTV then send a "message received" confirmation which is reverse billed at a whopping 50 pence!

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Promoted on air and available via the Sky Active menu, the Sky News Chat application requires the Sky STB to dial up and connect to the chat server. The call is charged at 5p per minute. All messages sent are moderated and the chat session is hosted to encourage participation.

The application allows the viewer to chat using their remote (entering text as with a mobile phone) or using the Sky infra-red keyboard. The application also has an in built library of phrases to make typing easier.

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A simple and easy to use interface makes this application a pleasure to use.

Accessible from the interactive portal, the on-screen "mobile phone style" interface is clear and inviting. The user first enters the message using the number keys on their remote, then they enter the telephone number. The STB then sends the info across via its modem, the call costing Euro cents 27.

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Sister internet company M-Web is also part of the MIH group and the service provider for the Multichoice TV Email service in South Africa.

The email application on channel 73 allows users to receive and send email and manage their own address book.

By contrast to the email services provided by Sky in the UK, this service only goes online to receive or send outgoing mail.

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Produced by Mass Market Media, MOPHOLOGO allows NTL digital TV subscribers to create images on the TV screen with their remote control and then send the picture to a mobile phone via a premium rate revenue system.

MOPHOLOGO is the first stage in the creation of a brand that will encompass further creative utility products for personalising mobile phones. The web version of MOPHOLOGO is scheduled to appear on a leading internet portal later this Summer and an OpenTV version of MOPHOLOGO is approaching the end of its development cycle for worldwide availability alongside its current Liberate incarnation.

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This guided overview from Turkish developer Mobilsoft
(http://www.mobilsoft.com.tr)shows the capability of Digiturk's email and messaging service.

Special features include the ability to send and receive TV "Greeting Cards" and view file attachments in BMP, JPEG and GIF formats.

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This service, using broadly the same interface as the Canal Satellite France SMS service allows viewers to ask questions during the live daily transmission of C Dans L'air on France 5. This application is currently exclusively available to Canal Satellite subscribers. When the viewer opts to send a message - a virtual keyboard and text box appear. On choosing the validate option - the message is then sent via the STB modem.

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This is one of the WML or WapTV "Microbrowser" based services on the Sky Platform.

Choosing the Ringtones & Logos service takes the viewer away from the video for a few short moments to retreive the data (from another transponder!) and then returns to the video so the viewer can continue to watch their favourite programming.

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In France, Canal Satellite & Vizzavi's SMS service uses a virtual keyboard which appears on screen.

With its RegieLine software, IDP has integrated the application and developed the back-office tools that ensures the transfer of the message to the Vizzavi platform. This in turn automatically forwards the message to the receiver’s mobile telephone. IDP's virtual keyboard, which will now be the standard keyboard for all Canal Satellite applications created using RegieLine.

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