The men behind both Skype and Kazzaa, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, are now planning to turn their hands towards creating an online television service that will meet traditional broadcast standards.

Joost, the name for the new program, will allow users to watch a wide variety of television shows for (we believe) free. Unlike Youtube and other online video distribution service, the programs you will be able to watch on here will be made to traditional broadcast standards.

The chief executive, Frederik de Wahl, spoke to the BBC about their plans for the service:

"We are trying to replicate the complete television experience. It's full-screen, broadcast quality, you've got instant channel flipping, and interactivity - a viewer can come to us and get all their TV needs."

Sounds pretty good and is almost certainly what the world needs to properly merge internet and television. Unsurprisingly, the BBC article put a negative spin on the proposals. Asking "what is there to watch?" and answering "nothing that is going to tempt many away from their existing television diet."

What should be noted is that the BBC has plans in the pipeline to fund its own online television distribution service, with plans to roll out the old catalogue of classic BBC shows. As we reported last month they've already set in motion the distribution of shows like Fawlty Towers through Bit Torrent.

The Joost project is certainly an interesting one, and we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any information on what kind of shows will populate its lineup. The site is currently taking on beta testers, so if you're interested head on over and sign up.

Is Joost the future of television? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.