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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Whilst in the application, viewers can access email and chat whilst continuing to watch TV in quarter screen mode. Text entry is possible (although very slow) using the Sky remote control, however the Sky infrared keyboard has been available for some time now and offers viewers a much faster typing experience.

The new service is currently only available to existing AOL subscribers and AOL clearly see this service as a ‘value-add’ for existing subscribers. There is no option to sign-up and subscribe immediately through Sky Active (although a telephone number is provided in the service for those people that wish to request a CD). But it should be noted that the ability to access homes without PC's forms no part of AOL's iTV strategy.

As can be seen from the video, the instant messaging service operates somewhat differently from on the PC. Using Sky Active, the viewer selects a 'buddy' to chat to from the buddy menu (saving them from the effort of typing a user name) and they can then type their message in the message window. When the message has been sent, rather than the window staying in view - waiting for the reply to follow, the message window actually disappears and does not reappear until the reply is received! Whist this might go against the expectation of a seasoned PC user, AOL have actually provided a clever workaround here since, unlike the PC, using Sky's STB's it is impossible to have two separate chat windows appearing in the same application.