Iron Man movie to be pre-installed on new PCs

Finding new and innovative ways to sell computers is at the forefront of industry efforts to boost mainstream PC sales.

However, Dell is working with Hollywood movie studio Paramount on a new project to pre-install movies on new machines, to coincide with their DVD release.

For now, Paramount is the only studio that has signed on with Dell, and its summer movie hit Iron Man, along with additional bonus' material is the only movie being offered.

The US pilot project is the first step Dell is taking toward setting up a broader digital content storefront that could create significant competition for Apple's dominant iTunes Store.

"The key focus here is to lead off our slow immersion into content as a major piece of the puzzle in terms of what consumers want from a PC," said Rachna Basin, director of content for Dell's global consumer group.

"Iron Man" will be presented as a factory-build option, which allows buyers to customise virtually every facet of their PC from such essentials as storage capacity to stylistic touches like laptop-cover artwork. The Paramount/Marvel Entertainment film would be preinstalled on Dell's Inspiron, Studio and XPS laptop and desktop models.

Dell eventually will broaden its selection of preloaded content as it signs other studios. In time, Dell likely will enable consumers to purchase films after they've bought computers, too.