Warner Bros announced that it will become the first Hollywood studio to release films digitally in China in a pioneering transactional VOD initiative that also marks the latest strike in the war on piracy.

Studio titles such as I Am Legend, Fool's Gold and Speed Racer will be made available to PC owners on VOD via Voole.com. Further titles, some of which will not have been released theatrically in China, will be announced in due course. The roster includes film, TV and special interest titles from Warner Bros' library.

There are an estimated 300 websites offering video-watching or video-sharing services in China, however only a small portion offer features and even fewer own distribution rights to Hollywood movies.

'We believe that China is a significant market for us to expand our digital distribution strategy and this partnership with Voole is an important first step in helping us to reach the broadest audience for our movies,' Warner Bros Digital Distribution executive vice president of international Marc Gareton said.

'We are delighted to be working with the Warner Bros team in China to be leading the market in this way,' Union Voole Technology CEO Shao Yiding said. 'This new service will provide more convenience and choice to consumers, and at the same time, help us to combat piracy by offering great Warner Bros movies in a high quality, legitimate format.'

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