Asda customers will be able to shop via their digital tv sets by the summer, says the multiple, following a partnership deal with British Interactive Broadcasting network Open. When the service is launched in June it will be available to all one million Asda@home customers. By the end of 2000 ­ when a further London depot will be operational ­ a full service will be running within the M25. The site will carry the same range of 7,000 products as Asda@home and the same delivery services will apply. The site of a fourth depot, due to open this year, has yet to be confirmed. Asda, which says the move signals the start of its national rollout, is the second multiple to sign up to the tv home shopping service. Somerfield launched its tv home shopping service on the same channel last October. Asda chief executive Allan Leighton said: "PC ownership is on the rise but the TV is still the most used medium in the home. The opportunities for digital tv are limitless and we want to be part of it." The multiple said it is already looking for sites further afield and that the rollout should be completed within five years. {{NEWS }}

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