Five months after giving birth to their new online video joint venture, the two media titans - News Corp and NBC Universal - on Wednesday christened a name for it.

Christened as “Hulu”, the new Web site for prime-time and high-quality TV programs could pose a challenge for YouTube, which has long been enjoying its numero uno position as the biggest video sharing website in the industry.

In March, News Corporation and NBC Universal joined hands to proclaim the world's largest Internet video distribution network. At the time they included the distribution of full-length movies, television shows and video clips through their un-named site on their agenda.

"Our hope is that Hulu will embody our (admittedly ambitious) never-ending mission, which is to help you find and enjoy the world's premier content when, where, and how you want it," said Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, in a statement.

Besides giving name to their much-hyped project, the media giants have also given few other details. They said the home page of the site features promotional shots from some of NBC's and News Corp.'s most popular shows: Heroes, Family Guy, The Simpsons, 24, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few.

The reason behind giving the site such unusual name is nothing else but the fun factor, the two global media organisations said while announcing the name yesterday.

Calling the name short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, Kilar further said, “Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we're building. Our hope is that Hulu will embody our (admittedly ambitious) never-ending mission, which is to help you find and enjoy the world's premier content when, where and how you want it."

Originally scheduled for summer launch, the “Hulu” site’s debut has gradually been delayed a bit. According to the two companies, operations would begin in October for invitation-only trials.

Whether the current association of News Corporation and NBC Universal is big enough to topple Google's YouTube remains to be seen.

Founded in February 2005 by three former employees of PayPal as a subsidiary of Google Inc., YouTube is the world's most popular online video community which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. It was owned by Mountain View-based online search leader Google Inc. in November for $1.65 billion. It uses the Adobe Flash technology to display video, and currently is handling a monthly traffic of over 70 million users.

YouTube, which is the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience, provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire the worldwide users. It also acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.