Warner Bros. is the second studio to make movies available online in Europe, following in Universal's footsteps.

According to industry newspaper Variety, the Hollywood studio has struck a deal with Dutch company Free Record Shop to sell films online day-and-date with their DVD release, starting this week with nearly 100 titles, including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Movies will be available in the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium for €9.99-€14.99. Warner Bros will add more new and library films to the service going forward.

Last week, Universal signed a deal with UK DVD-by-mail company Lovefilm to sell permanent digital downloads along with DVDs for one price.

Warner Bros previously announced a deal to sell movies online in Germany via a P2P service run by Bertelsmann subsidiary Arvato, but that service launches later in April.

The studio's Dutch offering debuts 4 April, making it the first to sell movie files via the Web.

Previously, studio films have been available online only for rental in the video-on-demand window. Permanent downloads are gaining momentum, however, and are expected to launch in the U.S. soon.

Story filed 03.04.06