Prelude Trust plc today announced an investment of US $750,000 in NetChannel Inc. ("NetChannel"). NetChannel was founded in 1996 to employ technology developed by Acorn Computer for the Oracle Network Computer standard. The company has raised venture capital in the USA and Prelude has joined the existing US venture investors in providing further finance for the company.

NetChannel provides a personalised Internet service to the home using the TV set rather than a computer. The service is designed to bring the Internet into the living room allowing each family member to use the TV to obtain information about topics that interest them without having to invest in a computer or learn how to use one. The Internet effectively becomes an extra TV channel but in this case an interactive one that can be controlled with a TV remote rather than a mouse and keyboard. The service is scheduled to become available in the USA and the UK in the third quarter of 1997.

Alan Duncan of Prelude Trust plc said: "We have known NetChannel for a number of months and are confident that they are very well placed to succeed in this major new consumer market."