Watching her husband on TV

American Stefanie Lyle found out what her husband gets up to at work on Friday when she watched him charge through southern Iraq in a tank on live television.

"I've been taping it," Lyle told CNN by telephone from Fort Stewart, Georgia. "I just can't believe that we're able to see this on TV. It's great."

Lyle's husband, Clay, is a tank commander with the U.S. 7th Cavalry, which CNN showed roaring north through the sands of southern Iraq largely unopposed as part of the invasion by U.S. and British forces to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

In a first for TV broadcasters, television journalists attached to U.S. military units have been beaming back live images of the advance using satellite videophones.

Television's victory

Television celebrated its own victory in America's assault on Iraq on Thursday as the world scrambled to tune into images of war, featuring everything from gas-mask clad presenters to patriotic Iraqi songs.

Television networks from Australia to America cleared their schedules to pump out footage of the United States pounding targets across Iraq, with many turning to round-the-clock coverage and dropping advertising from their channels.

Television coverage ranged from the Hollywood-like drama of U.S. reporting to scenes on Iraqi television of sword-carrying locals singing "Long live Iraq and may God save Saddam".

In Kuwait, stations kept viewers informed on when to expect the next round of Iraqi-fired Scud missiles, interrupting broadcasts with emergency sirens.

And in China, state channel CCTV, which normally vigorously vets its broadcasts, took the unusual move of showing President George W. Bush's address live.

Aside from the sheer drama of images of war, television was expected to benefit from more detailed reporting than in previous conflicts, greater interactivity with the Internet, and high-tech gadgets beaming the latest pictures from front lines.

While the first Gulf War in 1991 reshaped the television map, this war was once again expected to highlight its primary role in covering world-changing events.

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