Cable firm NTL has announced plans to use peer-to-peer application BitTorrent in a technical trial to evaluate ultra high-speed legal video downloads in the UK.

The trial will combine the assets of BitTorrent's file-swapping P2P client to maximise distribution with CacheLogic's P2P content caches to further accelerate delivery and offset the network costs normally associated with P2P.

NTL's broadband access network will provide high download speeds for broadcast quality content.

CacheLogic's P2P caching products will ensure high quality of service by improving network efficiency, mitigating the cost of traffic and accelerating downloads.

The trial service will feature a large variety of licensed video content including popular movies, music videos and television programmes, the companies said.

Kevin Baughan, director of network strategy at NTL, said that the move is designed to "extend its high-quality video experience from the set-top box to the media player". The trial is expected to start in April.

Earlier this month web browser developer Opera signed an agreement to use the BitTorrent trademark and access the search engine from the browser's user interface.

Integrating this technology will mean faster and more efficient downloads of large files, the company said.