The first feature to be produced by French network M6 - the Euros 22m animated Asterix And The Vikings directed Denmark's Stefan Fjeldmark and Jesper Moller - should be delivered by 2006.

M6 is collaborating with the experienced Danes at A-Film, whose credits includes Fjeldmark's Help, I'm A Fish (2000). Though A-Fiolm is a subsidiary of Nordic major Nordisk Film, Svensk Filmindustri beat them in the run for Scandinavian rights. Other presales include RTL for Germany, and the producers are negotiating a Spanish co-production.

The still running 44 year-old hugely popular Asterix series was created by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo and has sold more than 300m copies in some 110 languages and has previously been subject for seven animated and two live action features. The script for the 75-minute family film is written by Fjeldmark and Belgium's Jean-Luc Goossens.