New interactive digital cable software from Redmond:

Microsoft Corp. presented new software Monday to help cable television companies develop digital TV programming and services. The software, called Microsoft TV Foundation Edition, is a new technological platform designed to run on the digital cable boxes that sit atop many television sets.

THE SOFTWARE, installed on both customers' set-top boxes and on computer servers at cable companies, includes applications for cable operators to create and deliver on-screen TV guides, movies-on-demand, and interactive advertisements for their customers.

....The software is designed to help cable companies take advantage of the growing interest in "on-demand" services, which allow customers to order movies, special episodes or other programs at any time with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind, Graczyk said.

Using the Foundation suite of software, cable companies can also create screens that let users automatically click to see sports scores and headlines instead of waiting for a sports or news channel to broadcast them. The software also includes ways to create interactive advertisements [AP]