The tech boffins at your ABC are working hard to ensure they stay on the cutting edge of new media this year. Dan Fill and his team are hidden away in a secret research bunker, in an office building around the corner from Aunty's Melbourne headquarters at Ripponlea.

As head of multiplatform productions for ABC Television, Fill is first to play with the latest the web has to offer, and has big plans for this year, boosted by Australians slowly gaining access to faster internet speeds.

The early ABC online video services were optimised to run over a 256 kilobits per second connection, which was later upped to 512Kbps. This number continues to rise, driven by the growing reach of ADSL2+ and talk of a national broadband network offering at least 12 megabit per second to every household. The ABC's online success story of 2008 was iView (abc.net.au/iview), a catch-up TV service allowing viewers to watch shows that recently screened on ABC1 or ABC2.

The service requires a minimum 1Mbps internet link, and offers video sharp enough to watch full-screen on your computer. This year iView is gaining five channels, and the multiplatform team is working on uniting all the video content on ABC sites.

Despite its speed requirements putting it out of reach for many users, iView had more than a million site visits this year. Rather than wait for broadband technology to catch up, Fill believes it's the ABC's responsibility to lead the way in online content delivery.

''In the early days of radio, the ABC was at the forefront, even though broadcasts couldn't reach everyone,'' Fill says.

''I see it as the ABC's responsibility to lead the way rather than sit back and wait for things to happen. Today, every program on the ABC is commissioned with a multiplatform strategy. The internet is no longer some sideshow, it's an integral part of what the ABC has to offer.''

Access to iView is hampered as much by the public's download caps as their connection speeds, which is why the ABC struck agreements with internet service providers iiNet and WestNet to exempt content from the ABC towards users' monthly download limits.

The ABC is working to expand this unmetered content deal to other Australian ISPs, making its online content available to as many people as possible.

This year Fill hopes to commission programs specifically for the online platform.

His multiplatform team will trial high-def content, live streaming channels, and even streaming to mobile devices in conjunction with Broadcast Australia.

Interactivity is a big part of the multiplatform team's brief, with last month's launch of a mobile interactive kiosk featuring a video camera and touch-screen monitor. It allows the public to record themselves at broadcast quality, with the potential for clips to be played on TV and online. People will also be able to download content from the kiosk via Bluetooth.

The team is also developing content that can be downloaded to a TiVo personal video recorder, including full TV programs and short clips such as movie reviews.

Whereas watching the TV can be a family event, browsing the internet tends to be a solitary activity. The ABC is looking to change this with the introduction of a social networking feature to its websites. For example, there are plans to add a synchronisation feature to online video playback, allowing people in different locations to watch the same show at the same time and talk about the show in a chat window.

The multiplatform team's plans stretch far beyond video, and it is working closely with cutting-edge public broadcasters in Britain and Canada to develop ways to engage audiences.

The recently launched Storm Hawks World is a virtual world for children to explore, based on the Canadian action series Storm Hawks and built using Australian technology. Escape From Scorpion Island, a children's adventure series shot in Australia, also has an online game developed with the BBC.

ABC audiences are also getting in on the act, with viewers of The Gruen Transfer and The Zimmer Twins using online tools to create their own content, some of which has already been broadcast. Good Game teamed with the Australian Film Commission to invite the audience to build a playable online game, which was released in November.

All the multiplatform team's efforts have been achieved without additional funds, but Fill says this will need to change if the ABC is to move to the next level.

''At this stage we're playing on a world-class stage, but if we want to continue to be a leader we're going to need to invest more resources into these kinds of projects,'' he says.

''To be honest, I don't know where this technology is going, but I know the ABC is committed to taking us there by listening to our audiences and delivering exciting new content.

''We need to build for the long term, rather than just looking for some kind of short-term profit.''