AOL is in the news a lot this week. But perhaps missed is that AOL announced that it plans to introduce an ambitious new video portal that aspires to become the leading web destination for online videos.

Ovum's EuroView Daily Comment service says that this move is comprised of three components:

The first will be a bouquet of 45 cable-like video on demand channels programmed by AOL's content partners which include A&E Television Networks; Comedy Time; ... MTV Networks; National Lampoon; ... TNT and Warner Bros Entertainment. In addition, AOL has made deals with VoD aggregators, TotalVideo and Wild America and with the WNBA, for the retransmission of their archived games. The channels will feature some advertiser-supported content that can be streamed to users for free, whereas "downloads to own" of individual shows will be available on demand for a fee.

The second feature will be a powerful video search engine that will direct users toward the video content they are looking for, even if that content is located outside of the AOL domain.

Finally, the portal will boast a service called "UnCut Video" where users will be encouraged to upload their own personal videos and photos, directly from their own video camcorders or digital cameras, their PC or their video-enabled phones.