Apple Computer yesterday announced that their iTunes online music store will now offer new movie releases from premier film studios for purchase on the same day as their DVD release. Movies purchased from iTunes can be viewed on video iPods, iPhones, Macs, Windows PCs, or wide-screen TVs with Apple TV.

The interesting part: new releases and catalog titles will be available from the likes of 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment, and First Look Studios. Titles like "American Gangster", "The Diving Bell", and "The Butterfly" will be available this week on iTunes, right on the day of their DVD release. Other latest titles such as "Juno", "Cloverfield", "I Am Legend", "There Will Be Blood", "Alvin and the Chipmunks", and "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" are already available on iTunes, Apple said.

New releases are priced at at $14.99 while most catalog titles are available for $9.99. Users need iTunes 7.6.2. to get them started with the process of purchasing movies.

And now the catch: If you're living in India or for that matter anywhere other than the US, you won't be able to avail this facility -- at least not now!