The Australian subsidiary of Oracle has entered a joint venture with an American developer to construct the software back end for its ambitious interactive television projects.

Oracle Australia will form a company called ICE Interactive in conjunction with Liberate Technologies, a specialist developer of content and applications for TV set-top boxes.

Oracle has been vocal in its support for interactive TV in Australia, most notably when CEO Larry Ellison spilt the beans last year at a conference in Geneva about the fact that the company was working with Australia's largest telecommunications carrier, Telstra, on an interactive television project called Big Pond TV.

"By outsourcing this specialised part of its business to ICE Interactive, Oracle will be able to continue to focus on its business-to-business initiatives," said Stuart McLean, GM of e-Business for Oracle Australia. "The formation of ICE Interactive will still allow Oracle to play a part in and benefit from the interactive TV explosion about to take place."

ICE also has a third investor - Western Australian minerals explorer Burdekin Resources - and is looking for a fourth investor to take up another five per cent of ICE's equity. Oracle said in a statement that the fourth member would be "preferably a major company with a substantial client base", a set of conditions which Telstra would fill admirably.

Carl Braden will become managing director for the new venture. He was previously a business development manager at Oracle.

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