Melbourne, Apr.18 : Canadian firm Live Current Media (LCM) will develop the Indian Premier League's official website for US50 million dollars.

The 10-year deal will see the Vancouver-based company develop and generate revenue from two new web portals, IPLT20.com and BCCI.tv, reports The Australian.

Its operational guidelines have been compared to the Getty Images-style picture and video syndication service.

LCM will make a guaranteed payment of US5 million dollars a year - US3 million dollars for the BCCI and US2 million dollars for the IPL - for the online rights according to The Guardian.

The paper says the revenue will be shared between the partners based on advertising, sponsorship and merchandise sales through the two websites.

LCM is launching IPLT20.com tonight, the day of the first match in the Twenty20 competition, as the official online portal for the 59 fixtures in this year's inaugural tournament.

The Canadian company aims to generate revenue from the IPL website by selling products, online advertising and through applications such as a fantasy cricket application for Facebook.

A key part of this strategy will be setting up the website as the official home for photos and short video clips of action from the IPL.

Footage and pictures will be available to buy on the website - but no live streaming of games will be offered.

The IPL has moved to stop specialist cricket websites, such as Cricinfo and Cricket365, having full access to matches from inside the grounds, although it has struck a compromise deal with news organisations.

"I expect the site to extend the stadium experience of a cricket match to the worldwide audience of cricket fans at large," said Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League told The Guardian.

"The website is highly interactive and includes everything a cricket fan would need to get their daily, hourly and minute-by-minute fix."

LCM aims to develop the official online destination for the BCCI, which represents all Indian cricket, including the national team, into a "premier sports website, akin to Fifa.com".

LCM also intends to develop its own website domain Cricket.com as a global cricket portal.

ANI