The film was shot in two weeks

This is Not a Love Song, which stars Harry Potter actor David Bradley, begun streaming at 1800 BST on Friday. The film runs for 93 minutes.

The low-budget British film - costing �500,000 to make - is a gritty thriller shot in less than a fortnight.

The producers hope the internet launch will help more UK film-makers to have their films seen more widely.

Writer Mr Beaufoy told BBC One's Breakfast programme he wrote the film for the internet because it was hard for small local films to get distribution deals.

"It's on in five cinemas but the point was we felt British films were being squeezed out of the cinemas by big American blockbusters, and the films I like watching and making are little small niche films that have no place in the cinema.

"We thought, 'Let's try and get our films out to the man in Norfolk and the woman in the Yorkshire Dales who never see my films'," he said.

'Taut thriller'

The film is available for streaming or for download from the film's website at a cost of between �2 to �3.

It is also being shown at cinemas in Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield and London.

Mr Beaufoy added: "It's very low--budget, it's made with really just a cast of two people, it's almost like a two hander, it was designed very specifically for this end. Very low budget, very fast and quick, very taut thriller.

Beaufoy wrote the hit movie The Full Monty

"In fact, and my wife did the catering. This is an experiment. I have laid out some of my own money for it."

A spokesman from the UK Film Council, which helped fund the film, said: "We are keen to use it as a test bed now the technology is there.

"To give the public the opportunity to be part of this groundbreaking event is fantastic."

The thriller has been described as similar in style to Deliverance and Straw Dogs, centred around two fugitives on the run from a group of vigilante farmers.

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