The iPlayer, which launches as a beta version tomorrow, will initially only work on PCs running Windows XP and Windows Media Player version 10 or 11.

Although the BBC has said it aims to make the iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible, an e-petition at the 10 Downing Street website urges the Prime Minister to instruct the BBC to provide its service for other operating systems.

The petition states: "The BBC should not be allowed to show commercial bias in this way, or to exclude certain groups of the population from using its services. The BBC say that they provide 'services for everyone, free of commercial interests and political bias'."

"Locking the new service's users into Microsoft Windows whilst ignoring those members of society who use other operating systems should does not fit in with the BBC's ethos and should not be allowed."

At the end of June, BBC director of future media and technology Ashley Highfield said: "We are committed to making it as easy as possible to use BBC iPlayer. Developing a version for Apple Macs and Microsoft Vista is absolutely on our critical path. Our vision is for BBC iPlayer to become a universal service available not just over the internet, but also on cable and other TV platforms, and eventually on mobiles and smart handheld devices."

Using the BBC iPlayer, you can watch over 400 hours of programmes from the BBC's network channels that you have missed or want to see again. Once you have downloaded a programme, you will have up to 30 days in which to watch it. Once watched, the programme file clears itself up by deleting itself.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/iplayer
www.bbc.co.uk/info/channels/iplayer.shtml

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