MTV today unveiled a major overhaul of its website, part of the broader "MTV 360" strategy tying together its Internet and broadcast television operations.

The new MTV.com incorporates instant messaging and also seeks to cash in on some of the "community" features that became popular on Napster.

"We are very close to agreement with every major record label," said Nicholas Butterworth, President and CEO of the MTVi Group, back in March, "[to allow] secure downloading that would protect both the artist and the label." Butterworth emphasized that MTV.com will use new technology that will enable only the person who orders a song to be able to play it back (hitsdailydouble.com, 3/26).

"We're experimenting with ways to give our viewers more control over how they access MTV," Butterworth told FT.com.

According to MTV’s own research, many of the network’s viewers watch MTV while surfing the Internet. The company is beginning to cater its advertising sales strategy to sell against its two cable TV channels and the website, according to FT.com.

MTV President Van Toffler said the company is selling advertising packages for the Video Music Awards that allow marketers to advertise on both cable channels and the website. "We are going out to our core advertisers with packages that... connect to the audience on three screens as opposed to one," Toffler said.