First came Kazaa, which was big. Then came Skype, which was bigger. Could The Venice Project be even bigger? Unlikely, but the new web TV venture from Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom is certainly getting them excited in telly circles.

Janus recently set the Venice scene with a post on his blog:

"It's simple, really – we are trying to bring together the best of TV with the best of the Internet. We think TV is one of the most powerful, engaging mass media of all time. People love TV, but they also hate TV. They love the (sometimes?) amazing storytelling, the richness, the quality itself. But they hate the linearness, the lack of choice, the lack of basic things like being able to search. And wholly missing is everything that we are now accustomed to from the Internet: tagging, recommendations, choice, and so on. TV is 507 channels and nothing on, and we want to help change that!"

Details of the project, which Janus assures us "won't be called the Venice Project forever", should become more clear when CEO Fredrik de Wahl takes to the stage at the Future of Television Forum in New York on 16-17 November. Watch this space for news of the full public launch.