In a first-of-its-kind for U.S. television viewers, Home Shopping Network is allowing shoppers to purchase the goods they see on the network using their television remote controls.

The interactive TV service began being tested in Hawaii at the beginning of the year, and testing began in areas of New York a few months ago, according to Fox News (via MediaBuyerPlanner). The service will roll out nationwide over the next several quarters, according to IAC/Interactive Corp., which controls HSN. Time Warner Cable is HSN's distribution partner in Hawaii, while Cablevision Systems Corp. is the partner in New York.

The company has generated several hundred thousand dollars through the shop by remote service, without any marketing backing the service.

In Britain, HSN rival network QVC launched a similar service back in Sept. 2001, which is doing very well, according to Mark Suckle, CEO of QVC U.K. Shop by remote is more difficult in the U.S. than in Britain because of the complexity of the market. In Britain, there's one dominant distributor, pay-TV operator British Sky Broadcasting Group, which delivers the application to much of the country with a single, standard platform. In the U.S., there are six major cable providers and two satellite providers, all using different technologies.