Popular video website YouTube has unveiled a local version of its site for Irish web users.
Chad Hurley (L) and Steve Chen, co-founders of YouTube, after a news conference in Paris today where they announced nine country sites, including Ireland, will feature local content. Photo: Reuters/Philippe Wojazer.
The Irish version - available at www.youtube.ie - will prioritise Irish-related videos and comments to give users what the company says will be a "local experience" of the site.
Until now, the featured pages users first saw when they logged on to the site were heavily skewed to US tastes.
YouTube also unveiled eight other national sites for Brazil, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
The co-founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, told a news conference in Paris today that the nine country sites will eventually feature locally popular content.
During the first stage of the international move, each site will offer fully translated local homepages and video search functions, they said.
In recent months, YouTube, which was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion last year, has signed up various major international media partners including broadcasters such as the BBC, France 24, and the Spanish Antena 3.
It also features archive and daily news from popular European football clubs such as Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Barcelona FC and Real Madrid, although the site is restricted from showing live matches in most cases.
It also has programmes from non-profit groups such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and UNHCR.
Additional reporting by Reuters
