Free news channel accessed through the next-gen console.

Nintendo has launched a free news channel which can be accessed through its Wii games console.

The News Channel will use content from Associated Press and provide stories in multiple categories from across the country and around the world.

The user interface will allow Wii owners to spin a virtual globe and point to the location of a news event using the Wii Remote.

Stories will be listed under headings including Business, Sports, Arts/Entertainment, Technology and Science/Health to allow users to quickly access information in the order they want.

In the global view, stories can be grouped by region instead of category. Icons show which stories have been read, which stories are text-only and which come with images.

By using the 'always-on' system functionality of WiiConnect24, stories will be updated frequently even while owners are sleeping.

"What Wii has done for video gaming, we hope it will accomplish for news," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America.

"Just by pointing at your TV screen, you become your own interactive editor, instantly accessing the latest headline stories whether they originate in Kansas City or Kyoto."

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