Sony has announced that it will attempt to challenge YouTube’s video sharing dominance with the launch of a new video-sharing website in Japan.

The Sony service called eyeVio, sees the company follow NBC and Universal’s move to provide some of its vast array of content online.

“This is part of Sony's quiet software revolution", CEO Howard Stringer said. "It's an opportunity to transmit user-generated video anywhere you want to, anytime to anybody, in a protected environment."

Sony states it will closely monitor material uploaded, to prevent lawsuits YouTube has experienced in recent months since its acquisition by Google for $1.6 billion.

Like Flickr, users will be allow to select whether content they upload will be made public or to be shared only amongst close friends and family.

The company has said that if the service in Japan is a success, it hopes to roll out localised version in different regions around the globe.