The BBC has released nearly 80 online news reports from the archives under the Creative Archive Licence.

The bulletins cover some iconic events of the past 50 years including the fall of the Berlin Wall, crowds ejecting soldiers from Beijing's Tiananmen Square and behind-the-scenes footage of the England team prior to their World Cup victory in 1966.

The scheme is called the Open News Archives and will be made freely available to internet users in the UK who can then watch, download and edit video clips for non-commercial use.

The BBC says that the video clips will be made available in QuickTime, Windows Media, MPEG1 and MP3 formats.

In releasing these reports, the BBC has now doubled the number of programme extracts it originally made available through an initial trial with Radio 1 Interactive.

Helen Boaden, Director, BBC News, said: "This trial is an important step in allowing us to share with our audiences the extraordinary news archive which the BBC has recorded over the years. We look forward to getting their reaction."

Paul Gerhardt, Project Director of the Creative Archive Licence Group, added: "The big news stories of the last three decades are the punctuation marks in the stories of our lives.

"The BBC's telling of those stories is part of our heritage, and now that the UK public have the chance to share and keep them we're keen to know how they will be used.

"Whatever you do, let us know - and help to shape the future of the Creative Archive."

The clips are available at www.bbc.co.uk/opennewsarchive.