The system, using technology developed by Japan's Toshiba Corp., allows mobile phone users in cars, trains or on street corners to watch high-definition digital TV programing by satellite.

After a four-month trial, TU Media Corp., 30 percent owned by South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom, says it will begin commercial services in early May.

"Our services, the world's first for mobile phones, mark a turning point in the telecom industry," TU Media spokesman Heo Jae-Young told AFP.

For the commercial service, TU Media will provide 14 video and 24 audio channels with a data channel scheduled for next year, he said.

"We aim to attract eight million subscribers by 2010 with one billion dollars in revenue," Heo said.

The system, called satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), emerged as a result of efforts by telecom companies to develop new revenue sources by combining mobile communication networks with video broadcasts.

"The mobile television business will create a new boom for the domestic market for gadgets," Heo said, adding the company plans to sell related services and equipment abroad.

Samsung Electronics unveiled a new DMB mobile phone featuring a 2.2-inch screen and a battery capable of providing more than two hours of viewing time. The model is priced at 850,000 won (805 dollars).

South Korea has emerged as a global leader in digital technology, with the information communications sector representing a crucial part of the economy.

The country leads the world in broadband internet and mobile phone penetraton. There are 36.6 million mobile phone subscribers in South Korea, accounting for 76 percent of the population.

However, the country's 19 trillion won wireless telecom market approached saturation last year, prompting firms to turn their eyes to new services such as broadband-based television and wireless Internet services.

SK Telecom and its Japanese partner Mobile Broadcasting launched the world's first satellite for mobile television broadcasts in March last year.

Mobile television services are designed to beam digital television, audio and data broadcasts to handheld devices via satellite or land-based television airwaves.

Broadcasting companies and cable operators here are competing for six licenses for the terrestrial mobile television services that will be allocated in March.

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