Lotus plans to offer its SmartSuite office applications for rent over the internet.

During this week's PC Expo show in New York, Lotus said it had signed a deal with streaming software company Into Networks to make its SmartSuite applications available to US consumers and businesses on a rental and subscription basis.

The software will be featured as part of Into Networks' Home Office group of software titles available for download at its Playnow.com web content site.

When a customer selects a title, it is instantly launched over their broadband connection to run on their desktop. Users can try titles for free before they buy, rent the software for a few days, or subscribe to channels of content on a monthly basis.

At the end of the rental period, there is no need to return or uninstall the software because it has been playing in real time from the Into Networks server.

But software vendors have voiced concerns that the delivery of software via the internet will increase the risk of piracy, which already costs them billions of dollars in lost revenues every year. Lotus claimed that the potential for piracy is avoided, however, because the content is delivered with a full title download.

Lotus 1-2-3 Version 9.5, Lotus Organiser version 5 and Lotus WordPro Version 9.5 will all be available online early in the autumn, with prices starting at $2.99 for 48 hours. UK pricing and availability has not yet been announced.