Fantastic news!! Nintendo have teamed up with the BBC to make the broadcaster's iPlayer service available via the revolutionary games console.

Early versions of the service will be available from 9 April but more polished software will be released as the service is developed and the BBC expects to release more test versions in late 2008. The news of the Nintendo Wii deal comes as the BBC reveals a steep rise in the numbers of people using the iPlayer.

"The BBC's catch-up TV service can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms - from the web and portable devices to gaming consoles," said Erik Huggers, BBC's group controller for Future Media and Technology, announcing the deal in a speech at the MipTV-Milia conference in Cannes.

He added that the iPlayer will also soon be available on television.

The iPlayer will be accessible via the internet channel on the Wii console. The BBC said a message would be sent to Wii owners to alert them to its availability.

The news comes as the BBC releases the latest viewing figures for the iPlayer.

In March 2008, more than 17.2 million requests to download or stream BBC programmes were made via the iPlayer. This is up 25% on the previous month and means more than 42 million programmes have been accessed via the iPlayer since its Christmas 2007 launch.

Nintendo's Wii has rapidly become the world's most popular console largely thanks to its innovative motion-sensitive controller.

In the UK it has become the fastest-selling console ever, shifting more than one million units in just 38 weeks after going on sale.