US telecoms giant AT&T is to work alongside supplier Cisco to deliver a high-definition video conferencing service to businesses around the world.

The project builds upon Cisco's Telpresesence system, which was introduced in 2006. The old package only permitted internal calls within a company, but the new solution will allow conferencing between multiple business users.

AT&T's Telepresence Solution will allow users to converse with each other via life-size images displayed in high-detail 1080p resolutions. Spatial audio technology will be used to further simulate the illusion that remote participants are occupying the same room.

The service will initially be made available in 23 countries later this year, with more to be added in 2009. Pricing details have yet to be revealed.