Holy download, Batman! 'Dark Knight' on Facebook

Warner Bros. is bringing movie rentals to Facebook, the first Hollywood studio to turn to the gigantic social network as a platform for its films.

"The Dark Knight," the 2008 Batman thriller directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, will be the first movie offered for rental on Facebook, the studio said, and can be watched at facebook.com/darkknight.

The rental fee is 30 Facebook Credits, or $3, and the movie can be watched unlimited times during a 48-hour period, the Time Warner-owned studio said in a statement.

For the moment, only Facebook members in the United States can rent the movie.

Warner Bros. described the move as an experiment but said additional titles will be available for rental and purchase on a regular basis "over the coming months."

"Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people," said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

"Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts," Gewecke said.

"It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world's largest social network," he said.

Warner Bros. said Facebook users will be able to comment on the movie, interact with friends and update their status while watching the film.

Hollywood studios have been looking at various services to distribute movies online, including Amazon, Netflix, Apple's iTunes and others, but Warner Bros. is the first to offer its movies on Facebook, which has over 500 million members.

(c) 2011 AFP