Sony has unveiled a free video and voice service that could spell disaster for blind dates and spouses lying to their loved ones.

According to the PR blurb, Sony's Instant Video Everywhere (IVE and pronounced "ivy") means that "late-working or travelling parents can check in on their kids at home using real-time, high-quality video directly from their desktop" while "online daters can see each other face-to-face before meeting in person".

Of course, it also means that cheating partners will gonna have to come up with a different excuse for their nocturnal activities instead of "working late tonight, dear".

Said Sony's Eric Murphy: "The launch of the IVE service as a free, unlimited use service is a communications watershed moment for consumers - an instantaneous, easy-to-use application that brings people together by literally putting them in the same room.

"The IVE service is the result of a shared vision projecting how video will continually evolve as an integral tool that people use to communicate in their daily lives," he said.

Sony has teamed up with IP-based video communications service provider GlowPoint to develop the service. For more info check out the Sony IVE web site here.®

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