HOLLAND: NDS, the technology company from the News Corp stable, has been nominated for two BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards.

The first nomination is for the Interactive TV category where NDS, as the developer, has been nominated along with MTV UK, the publisher, for the programme MTV Ad-Break Tennis. In this category, NDS and MTV are up against BBCi 24/7 Interactive TV Services, Big Brother 3 and Who Wants to be a Millionaire Interactive. The second nomination is for Enhancement of Linear Media where NDS and MTV have again been nominated for MTV Ad-Break Tennis

Ad-Break Tennis is an interactive tennis game powered by NDS iTV technology that can be played from the comfort of the living room. It was initially played over the top of TV advertising shown during breaks in Wimbledon 2002 to increase viewer ratings and reduce channel surfing during this prime international tennis tournament.

An oficial release informs that Ad-Break tennis is based on the 1980s arcade classic Pong. This is the first time interactive gaming has been used during a television advertising break. NDS claims to have taken a lead in implementing digital technology to benefit advertisers by reducing channel surfing and keeping the MTV-generation tuned in for longer as they will engage with the iTV application.

To move the virtual rackets, Ad-Break Tennis players use the remote control arrow keys. An on-screen scoreboard will register points. It will retain the score for as long as the viewer remains with the channel, so players can carry a match through successive commercial breaks. Ad-Break Tennis builds on MTVs previous iTV successes the MTV Eruope Music Awards and MTV Hits Interactive which have helped to increase the channels overall ratings by 50 per cent. MTV is now rolling out its full 24/7 enhanced TV service in conjunction with NDS and has ambitious plans for t-commerce and creative interactive sponsorship opportunities this year.