Apple has agreed a deal with several major film studios to ensure that new releases will be made available via iTunes on the same day as their DVD release.

Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Paramount and Universal Studios are among the studios co-operating with Apple. Ridley Scott's crime epic American Gangster and French drama The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will be two of the first films to receive a simultaneous release on iTunes and DVD.

The deal is the latest indication that the entertainment industry is coming to terms with the digital formats preferred by consumers. In the music sector, major record labels have now all but abandoned digital rights management, following a long battle with mp3 pirates.