Say hello to the 'smart jukebox'

That dusty old pub jukebox belting out the same 1980s classics all night could soon be a thing of the past.

It is set to be replaced by a 'smart' machine connected to the Internet and offering a choice of 2.5million tunes.

The new digital players, linked to the Web by broadband, can access tunes in MP3 format in seconds.

In an attempt to halt the decline of jukeboxes in pubs and clubs, a company plans to replace 5,000 CD systems with the new players within two years. It eventually aims to have 30,000 machines.

Luke Alvarez, chief executive of Inspired Broadcast Networks, said: 'People spend a lot of time at home, filesharing music over the Internet, while pub jukeboxes have just 50 CDs.

'It doesn't compare, so we have tried to produce something that's better and legal - with 2.5million tracks and 300 more being added every day.' In the new year, the new jukeboxes will also offer tens of thousands of music videos, which can be projected on to a big screen.

They will be able to sell downloadable albums and phone ringtones to customers and also e-mail them tracks to their home PCs.

The machines are being introduced by Inspired, the digital division of Leisure Link, Britain's largest operator of paytoplay machines.