SkyLife which claims to be the sole provider of digital satellite broadcasting services in Korea, has launched the SkyTouch interactive TV service.

The SkyTouch interactive broadcast is DVB-MHP compliant, a next generation digital broadcasting standard endorsed as the standard in Korea by the Ministry of Information and Communications. SkyLife states that it was one of the world's first satellite pay-TV operators to launch MHP broadcasts with conditional access.

An official release informs that the SkyTouch MHP iTV service is based on NDS VideoGuard conditional access, Alticast middleware and SkyLife Smart Box 2.0 set-top boxes manufactured by LG Electronics and Samsung. The NDS set-top box testing and integration laboratory in Seoul was vital to the speed and success of the project, working closely with SkyLife, Alticast, LG Electronics and Samsung for integration with the new set-top box models and advising on MHP specific issues that arose.

The SkyTouch iTV package includes interactive services in four genres and 14 categories. Subscribers can play iTV games, educational quizzes, and check their fortune. In addition, subscribers can also receive real-time data iTV services such as weather forecasts, stock trading data and real estate prices. The SkyTouch service was officially unveiled at a ceremony a few days ago in Seoul.

The release indicates that in the future, SkyLife also plans to launch T-Government. This is an interactive TV service that will allow subscribers to search and request information from government departments and gain up-to-date information from the civil service.