Dyke: "We are opening the door to a new era"

The plans also include a new state-of-the-art broadcasting centre in the town and a new broadcasting region covering Hull, the East Riding and Lincolnshire.

Mr Dyke said the digital TV scheme would open the door to a "new era".

"New interactive technologies provide the BBC, as a public service broadcaster, with a unique opportunity to get closer to our audience - and for them to get more back from the BBC," he said.

The services will be delivered through Kingston Communications' broadband TV platform KiT, which has made Hull one of the most wired-up cities in the world.

The BBC says the project could be a "test bed for the BBC's broadband services of the future".

The new broadcast centre will be state-of-the-art

BBC Hull Interactive promises to provide "unprecedented" levels of local and national information and interactive TV content.

And learning packages will be available through TV sets in schools, with similar services designed for adults.

As well as the free drop-in training centre, the BBC will also provide a bus with a mobile studio and computers to provide access to training and facilities across the region.

'Delighted'

John Prescott, deputy prime minister and MP for Hull East, said the UK hoped to have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the world by 2005.

"Hull is ahead of any other city in the country in its ability to receive broadband broadcasts and I am delighted the BBC has recognised this and decided to invest in the city and the region," he said.

Through Kingston Communications, residents of Hull have been used to test services for the past few years for what may eventually become the standard throughout the rest of the country.