Apple has announced a series of deals with Hollywood studios to offer films to rent and buy through their iTunes download service.

UK consumers will be able to buy 'classic' films for £6.99 or new releases for £10.99 and store them on a PC or MAC for download to an iPhone, iTouch or Apple set-top box.

Consumers will also have the option to rent Apple's catalogue of films for between £2.99 and £3.99. Rental periods are currently set at 30 days although once a film has been started it will only be viewable for the next 48 hours.

Apple's catalogue of UK films has launched with around 700 titles, with many available in High Definition. It is worth noting that if you wish to watch films downloaded from iTunes on your own TV you will need Apple's own set-top box to do so.