CReATION: Grey Interactive launches iCare iTV

<p>Grey Interactive (GI) has launched Hong Kong's first Internet-on-TV </p><p>service for client iCare.com.hk. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At first glance, it seems strange that such a service - which can only </p><p>be accessed through a special set-top box - is needed at all. However, </p><p>GI general manager Karen Jim said there were a significant population, </p><p>especially among housewives, who were unfamiliar with computers and the </p><p>Internet. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In a recent study of non-Internet users, more than 70 per cent of 400 </p><p>married women surveyed stated that the World Wide Web would in future </p><p>play a key role in their lives. Yet 79 per cent admitted they were </p><p>unfamiliar with computers, while 35 per cent said they preferred to go </p><p>online through the TV set. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Housewives don't have much time left over after taking care of the kids </p><p>and doing all the housework, so this is a practical way for them to </p><p>become familiar with the Internet through the familiar setting of a </p><p>television set," Ms Jim said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As such, the project required GI to develop a highly-specialised design </p><p>and implementation strategy that was family-oriented and customised to </p><p>meet the needs of this niche market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One of the biggest challenges was to develop solutions to surmount the </p><p>inherent differences, both creatively and technically, between building, </p><p>viewing and navigating a website on television as opposed to a personal </p><p>computer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The iCare.com.hk website, a provider of household information and </p><p>shopping services, is jointly owned by Towngas and Henderson Investment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>