Dublin-based Emuse has begun working with the British broadcaster to produce ads with interactive content that viewers can access through the 'red-button' technology that is familiar to Sky Ireland's digital subscribers.

Emuse has raised over 15m, much of it committed by Rainsford and Conlon. The duo, whose other ventures include semiconductor firm Xsil, became millionaires when they sold software firm MV Technology to Agilent for 100m in 2001.

Rainsford said it was difficult to quantify how much revenue Emuse could stand to make from the ITV deal. The broadcaster has set a target of earning £250m per year in interactive advertising revenue by 2008.

Emuse's technology, which ITV will market to other broadcasters, will be a key to achieving that goal according to Rainsford. The companies will split the revenue but neither side would reveal how exactly the proceeds will be divided.

Rainsford said the selling point for Emuse's technology was that it allows interactive ads to work with any digital platform including Sky, the BBC-backed Freeview and broadband television. Sky and Freeview have 17 million subscribers between them in the UK. Sky has 393,000 subscribers in Ireland.

Our technology does everything. It's a one-stop shop." Advertisers have previously had to work with different technology and software depending on which platform their ads are to run. Emuse will supply the technology and ITV will sell the service to advertisers through its sales team. Rainsford said the service is generating huge interest because it enables advertisers to measure the impact of each campaign based on the number of viewers accessing the interactive content.

The first i-ad" to use the service, produced for UK mobile phone company TMobile, aired on Freeview over the Easter weekend. Budweiser will begin its first campaign this weekend and Rainsford said other blue-chip brands are lining up. The customers I have now are big and the next ones will be a who's who of advertisers, " he said.

Emuse now hopes to roll out the service in other markets with the US, Australia, Spain and Italy top of the list.