British viewers will be able to download a selection of BBC programs from Apple's digital store iTunes, under a deal announced by the public broadcaster's commercial arm.

BBC Worldwide said certain programming including Life On Mars, Little Britain and Spooks would be available in Britain for purchase and download from the iTunes store for 1.89 pounds ($3.69) per episode, in the first such deal for Apple with a UK broadcaster.

The programs can then be viewed on a PC, Mac, iPod with video, iPhone or Apple TV.

The corporation said making BBC programming available on iTunes was key to BBC Worldwide's objective of securing the broadest possible distribution for its content.

The BBC already has its own free on-demand service called iPlayer, which allows viewers to catch up with programs they have missed in the past week.