Media correspondent Torin Douglas reports on the BBC Beyond 2000 initiative

Launching a new document, Beyond 2000, the Chairman Sir Christopher Bland and the Director-General Sir John Birt reaffirmed the BBC's commitment to public service broadcasting in the digital age.

Sir Christopher said: "The BBC needs to be as certain about its public purpose in the new era as it has been in the past."

He said the BBC remains firmly committed to public service broadcasting in the new millennium - even though many viewers will soon be able to choose from hundreds of pay-TV channels.

Beyond 2000 is the result of several years of consultation and deliberation and it is hoped it will prompt public debate on the roles and aims of the BBC.

Earlier this year Culture Secretary Chris Smith suggested that the BBC should think about formulating its public commitments.

Among the aims are ensuring that no-one is excluded from access to the new kinds of service made possible by new technology, using the BBC's experience to reach into homes to give its audience new experiences and the promise to "act as a trusted guide in a world of abundance".

Sir John Birt: BBC must reflect UK's diversity

The document stresses the BBC's commitment to providing programmes of value to all UK licence payers and to nurturing the rich diversity of the UK's cultural heritage.

It also promises to reflect the nations, regions and communities of the UK and to help people broaden their horizons through learning.

Sir Christopher called the document " a statement of the BBC's vision" which committed everyone at every level within the organisation "to the BBC's public service purposes."

In a foreword to Beyond 2000, he and Sir John described the BBC as "one of the 20th century's great inventions".

But they recognised that the world that created the BBC had changed and that if the corporation was to continue to meet the needs of its many audiences "it too will have to develop, adapt and change".