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AtomFilms (www.atomfilms.com), the UK's first online film entertainment company, has been granted the exclusive online rights to show Aardman films, which feature such animated characters as Wallace and Gromit and Morph.

AtomFilms has joined forces with Aardman Animations, whose films can be accessed through a section of AtomFilms' site which is designed to look like an old-fashioned newspaper called The Aardman Observer (www.aardman.atomfilms.com).

Michael Comish, managing director of AtomFilms Europe, said: "This is a significant partnership for both of us. Aardman's reach might be substantial, but it is not a consumer-driven webcaster with an infrastructure for video enablement as we are. We are able to offer content in a fashion that enables customers to get to what they want and then we offer a lot more, like interaction, the opportunity to question programme makers, or feedback for directors."

Comish hopes that the deal will give Aardman the opportunity to extend its brand to new audiences. Liz Keynes, head of rights and licensing at Aardman, commented: "The work that we're doing with AtomFilms is as much a chronicle of our output over the past 20 years as it is a marketing tool. The internet is the only medium which allows audiences the flexibility to trace the development of our film-making techniques as well as providing the most personal and interactive viewing experience for our films."

This is the first major marketing initiative to come from AtomFilms' newly established European operation. Aardman started broadcasting on Friday with a selection of Creature Comforts films, a Morph episode and a Rex the Runt film. Content will be updated every fortnight.