If you're into classic movies - and are continually frustrated by the lack of selection at your local video store - you'll be happy to hear that MGM has stuck a deal that will see classic films such as The Great Train Robbery, Rocky and Dances with Wolves available to be downloaded on iTunes. For movie lovers, this is a major announcement as MGM has one of the largest film libraries in the world. Movies downloaded from iTunes will be in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640x480.

It's fascinating to see the movie studios be so pro-active in striking deals to expand their distribution networks on the Web. You have to wonder what the music industry would have been like today if it had adopted the same approach. Of course, music and movies are completely different animals - one creates product that lasts less than five minutes and can be downloaded in seconds, while the other creates two-hour products that can taken a long time to download depending on your Internet connection. Another advantage the movie industry has over music is people tend to have a stronger emotional connection to movies as opposed to most music, which is here today and gone tomorrow.