News Corporation and Apple will this month announce that the latest films from 20th Century Fox will be available to rent online through Apple's iTunes site.

In a deal struck between the maker of the iPod and News Corporation, the parent company of The Times and Times Online and owner of Fox, consumers will be able to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a digital copy from Apple’s iTunes platform for a fixed amount of time.

It is understood that Apple has been trying to persuade Hollywood studios to sign up to a digital rental model for months, in which subscribers would be able to download and view films for a set period, but until now no studio has agreed to the deal.

A number of Fox television shows, such as 24, are available to buy on iTunes

The latest deal could help Apple boost its video offering. Sales of video on iTunes have failed to grow at the same pace as the site's music downloads. Apple TV, the company's device for living rooms, has also been a poor seller.

Details of the arrangement between Apple and News Corporation, such as the pricing structure and whether all new releases would be available to rent, are still unclear.

Fox has been experimenting with the way it offers films online, and, like Sony and Viacom's Paramount Pictures, already sells movies via Amazon's Unbox service.

Major Fox films this year have included X-Men: The Last Stand and Ice Age: The Meltdownand the studio has an extensive library which houses the Star Wars series.

The Apple and Fox deal could be officially announced at the Macworld show on January 14. It is unclear whether Apple will sign deals with the other studios in time for Macworld.

Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corporation, recently told analysts that the media company was in talks with Apple during a conference call following News Corporation's results presentation in November.

Walt Disney, where Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs is a major shareholder and board member, is currently the only studio which sells both new releases and older films on the Apple site.

Other studios, such as Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate, sell older films through iTunes.

Separately, Amazon.com has added music downloads from Warner Music Group in a move which marks a major change of plan for the record label.

As with other music on Amazon’s site, Warner Music downloads will not include Digital Rights Management (DRM) and can be transferred to different digital formats. DRM is placed on downloaded music to protect it from illegal copying. Warner Music has until now been cautious about joining forces with download services that are not protected by DRM.

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