German electronics giant Siemens has reached an agreement to acquire U.S. software company Myrio, which specializes in technology for providing TV service over the Net, Siemens said Friday.

Myrio, in Seattle, Washington, provides middleware and applications for emerging IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) services that use the Internet -- and not broadcast towers or satellites -- to deliver video into consumers' homes.

The acquisition will help strengthen Siemens' portfolio of so-called "triple-play" voice, data and video technologies aimed at network operators, ISPs (Internet service providers) and cable companies, the company said.

Numerous players in the telecoms sector see strong growth potential in providing services such as interactive TV and TV on demand, in addition to telephony and high-speed Internet access.

The terms of the deal with the privately held company were not disclosed.

Myrio, a 75-person software company, began life as an ISP, formerly called SourceNet. The company later changed its name and focus, moving into the development of software to provide video over IP (Internet Protocol).

A founding member of the Focus Group for VDSL (Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line) technology within the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), Myrio has collaborated with some of the world's leading broadband service providers and equipment suppliers to help define a standard for deploying services over IP-based broadband networks.

Siemens has already won contracts from Belgium's Belgacom SA and Thailand's Advanced Datanetwork Communications (ADC) for triple-play systems.