The BBC is invading commercial broadcasters' cyberspace. The public broadcaster said this week that it was going to relaunch its website with more blogs, podcasts and a focus on online communities. These plans sound as though they will overlap with services already operating, intensifying questions about the Beeb's role.

The BBC is right to consider how to contact and capture the millions of younger people who never - or hardly ever - watch television. Failure to do so would be an abdication. But the initiative merits caution, given its place among other expansionist moves. From plans for its commercial arm to create BBC.com, an advertising-supported website outside the UK, to the intention to provide some free video-on-demand for programmes, the BBC's internet ambitions are outpacing its remit as a public broadcaster.