Microsoft Corp. and KT (Korea Telecom), the largest telecom provider in Korea, today announced that KT is the first telecommunications operator in the world to deploy Microsoft® Windows Media® 9 Series. KT is using Windows Media 9 Series to power its new broadband video-on-demand service called HomeMedia, which launches today. KT's HomeMedia service will use key innovations of the new Windows Media 9 Series to deliver over 2,000 on-demand movies and television programming, from the leading Korean movie studios and the leading national television networks, to its 4.4 million broadband Internet users. HomeMedia also will be the first service in the world designed to connect the PC to the television in the living room with a wireless connection using Windows Media 9 Series. This new service demonstrates how the PC is rapidly transforming into a mainstream entertainment device for the home.

"Our goal at KT with the HomeMedia service was to design a breakthrough consumer experience for the sophisticated broadband users of Korea with compelling Korean film and TV content," said Yoon Jong Lok, senior vice president of the e-Biz group at KT. "As the first digital media technology tailored for the broadband world, with pioneering innovations like Fast Streaming, offering a more TV-like experience on the Web and the ability to stream movies with 5.1 surround sound, Windows Media 9 Series will really differentiate our service in the Korean marketplace."