Joost widgetry

Joost is opening its membership to the public with the release of version 1.0, after working on an invite-only basis since its launch.

The "much-hyped" internet TV service, developed by the creators of Skype, isn't planning a promotional ad campaign any time soon, believing its existing media exposure is enough to ignite a word of mouth following, according to the Financial Times.

During its invite-only testing phase, the ad-supported downloadable service has enjoyed 1.5 million sign-ups, but only about 10 percent are currently active.

Like Facebook, Joost plans to open its back-end to developers, enabling those inclined to design widgets atop the service's video player, to increase its social appeal.