New York - Legendary pop-rock pioneers The Beatles are finally moving to the digital age.

The Fab Four have licensed their entire catalog of music to be used in a video game made by the companies behind the popular game Rock Band, in which players earn points for accompanying the band, it was announced Thursday.

The game will mark the first time that the Beatles have sanctioned the use of their music in new media. Their songs are not even available over iTunes. The deal was struck after 17 months of negotiation and was supported by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as the widows of George Harrison and John Lennon.

The game is expected to be released by the end of 2009 and will feature a narrative element that will allow players to accompany The Beatles as they go from four unknown Liverpool lads to the greatest rock stars the world has ever seen.

"The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out," McCartney said in a statement.

"How wonderful that The Beatles' legacy will find its natural progression into the 21st century through the computerized world we live in," said Starr.

The game will be made by Harmonix and MTV Networks, the companies behind the Rock Band video game, but the Beatles game will be much more than a reworked version of the gaming favourite.

"It will be an interactive music-making game," Vince Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music/Logo Group, said during a conference call to announce the deal. "I would say that there will be interactive performance of Beatles music, as well as a number of new dimensions that you haven't seen from us so far."

The game will be an "innovative way to introduce" The Beatles to a new generation of fans in a "completely immersive, interactive way," said Jeff Jones, chief executive of The Beatles' company, Apple Corps.

Giles Martin, son of Beatles' record producer Sir George Martin and co-producer of The Beatles Love project, will serve as music producer. (dpa)