First legal way to download movies

IT could spell the end of the High Street video shop. A London company today announced the first service allowing computer users to legally download films over the internet.

'We are expecting this to be a big success, especially as we are the first to do it,' said Paul Myers, the founder of Wippit, which already offers music downloads.

Films will take about 40 minutes to download, depending on the speed of the internet connection, and will cost between 99p and £9.99.

Wippit has a library of 20,000 films and is negotiating with major film studios and several independent TV companies to provide more films for the service, which will be launched in the summer. It could threaten rental chains such as Blockbuster, which have had to launch DVD-by-post schemes to keep up with consumer demand.

Myers said: 'We are aiming for the same kind of customer who goes into Blockbuster, rather than someone who buys a DVD box set. You won't get all of the extras, just the film, but I think that's what a lot of people want.'

Mark Mulligan, a technology analyst with Jupiter Research, said: 'The High Street video shop is facing a lot of competition from the internet, from DVD-by-post services and from things like Sky+ which let you record films. This is another thing that will erode their market. But he added: 'There is still one big problem - most people don't have a PC in their living room.'

Ian Thompson, of the UK Film Council, said: 'Anything that helps stop the billion pounds a year we lose to piracy must be welcomed. This is just another channel of distribution - people will still go to the cinema.'