Spike Lee enters YouTube competition game

New York (NY) - Actor, director, and frivolous litigator Spike Lee has teamed up with an Irish Internet company to kickstart a new online video service.

Babelgum, created by the newly minted company Babel Networks, aims to be different from YouTube and other online video sites by focusing exclusively on professionally created videos.

For example, Spike Lee will debut a new short film titled Jesus Children of America on Babelgum.

Another new online service, Joost, has a similar initiative, having signed on several content providers including CBS, Sony, and Viacom.

CNNMoney.com quoted Babel Networks CEO Erik Lumer as saying, "With more advertising dollars moving online, there is the potential for a large industry to emerge."

In the spirit of Spike Lee’s infamous lawsuit against Spike TV, it should be noted that Babel Networks has no relation to AltaVista’s Babelfish online translating service.