Inspired by the sucess of CBS' March Madness on Demand offering, Walt Disney owned ABC plans to offer some top TV shows like Desperate Housewives and Lost for free on the Internet supported by advertising. Viewers will be able to pause and move between "chapters" in an episode but will not be able to skip embedded ads.

Disney is also launching Soapnetic, a high-speed Internet channel for soap opera fans. AOL recently launched a site called In2TV, which offers free streams of old TV shows from the Warner Bros. library, including "Maverick," "Welcome Back Kotter," and "Wonder Woman."

"Commander in Chief" and "Alias" along with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" will be available on the Web in May and June, starting the day after they are first broadcast.

Related: Desperate Housewives Video Game

Source: CNN Money