D-Link inks deal to bring Radio@AOL home

Wireless equipment maker D-Link struck a deal with America Online on Wednesday to allow some of D-Link's home-networking products to broadcast AOL's online radio service to home stereos.

The deal relates to people who buy D-Link's Wireless Media Player, which is expected to be unveiled later this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, to listen to Web-based radio through their stereos. The Wireless Media Player hooks into a

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broadband home network and enables TV sets and home stereos to play online media files. Songs and other files are broadcast wirelessly from a PC, picked up by the Wireless Media Player and then transmitted to the appropriate device.

As an introductory offer, D-Link will give a 6-month trial for Radio@AOL to non-AOL members. After that, users can either subscribe to AOL or pay an undetermined fee to listen to Radio@AOL.

Down the road, AOL and D-Link will allow Wireless Media Player users to view online photos from AOL's You've Got Pictures service on their TV screens.

AOL also said it will use technology from the Liberty Alliance as the sign-in and authentication system for the deal. The authentication technology, originally envisioned to counter Microsoft's Passport service, is supported by many corporate giants, including Sun Microsystems, Sony, General Motors and American Express.