WebTV Networks K.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of WebTV Networks, Inc. of the United States, announced Oct. 2 that it will provide an easy-to-handle television Internet access service starting Dec. 1.By connecting the WebTV Internet Terminal that has been specially developed by Sony Corp. to a television and an analog telephone line, consumers can easily enjoy the high-resolution, flicker-free picture quality of the Internet and e-mail pages, according to Susumu Furukawa, president of WebTV Networks and also the chairman of Microsoft Co. in Japan. In August, WebTV Networks became a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.The terminal, which will be sold for 45,000 yen from mid-November, will be linked to WebTV's server, which then accesses the Internet and automatically downloads information, according to the company.To encourage family use, one WebTV Internet Terminal can be registered to up to six people so that each can have separate e-mail addresses and passwords. The monthly subscriber fee is 2,000 yen for 15 hours of Internet access, according to the company.
