Zodiac Interactive today announced new interactive television applications that enable consumers to search for local businesses and place orders using a standard remote control. The new applications bring Internet search and e-commerce capabilities to the television set, and are initially aimed at cable and satellite providers, and their digital TV customers.

TVLocalSearch can be deployed by a service provider, using Web-based search listings to let consumers call local restaurants or other businesses to order food or other merchandize. TVCallME connects to the VoIP service chosen by the cable or satellite provider, using the remote control to automatically connect the consumer to the local business, which pays to participate.

The new applications are software downloads, which can be deployed to set-top boxes without consumer involvement, according to a Zodiac spokesperson. While the technology will also work on the IPTV networks being deployed by telephone companies, it is initially targeted at cable and satellite providers because they already have a local sales structure for selling the service to local businesses, she said.

Customers click on a button on a standard remote control and get a menu from which they can choose from a range of products and services that includes news, games, fantasy sports scores, traffic, shopping and entertainment and customer service. By selecting TVLocalSearch, they are given a list of products or product categories within which to search.

Once a selection is made, the consumer can click on TVCallMe and the network will automatically connect the consumer to the business, via VoIP. The service provider selects the VoIP provider and the Web search listing used for the service.

Zodiak demonstrated the interactive TV offering at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, using Yahoo! Local Search.

The significant thing about the search service is that it provides a way for service providers to make money selling interactive capabilities, said Alexander Libkind, COO of Zodiac Interactive.

“Operators can move beyond the traditional advertising CPM model and earn a transactional fee on every call,” he said in a prepared statement. “Unlike other transactional services that require deep integration with vendor's back-end systems, TVCallME allows any vendor to display its services in a yellow pages-like environment with an immediate call to action - it's a truly unique and instantly profitable advertising model for iTV operators and local businesses.”