Almost a decade after Amazon first acquired the website, the Internet Movie Database -- which actually dates back to 1990, before most people had even heard of the Internet -- is finally getting the ability to stream movies, TV shows and other content, so that when you go and check the site for reviews of a film, you can watch some of it right in the page. Next to the listing and details about the movie or TV show is a button that says "Watch Now," and users can also click to buy the movie or show from Amazon's online store.

As Rafat Ali notes at PaidContent, this is so obvious an offering that it kind of makes you shake your head that it has taken so long, but that's the entertainment industry for you. Most of the major networks and studios have spent their time trying to keep their content away from the Internet, rather than trying to find ways of making it more available. Apparently, however, Amazon has signed deals with CBS and News Corp. (for content from their Hulu.com joint venture) as well as Sony Entertainment, and is hoping to get more.

Over 6,000 titles will be available, the company said, including recent episodes of TV shows such as “24” and “Heroes,” and classic films like “Some Like It Hot.”  IMDB also said that visitors to the site would be able to see the first episodes of new fall TV shows like “Lipstick Jungle” and “30 Rock” before they air on network television.

There's a catch though: unfortunately for Canadians -- and anyone else who lives outside of the United States -- most of the content that will be available through this new offering at IMDB is restricted to U.S. residents, and so without some kind of proxy avoidance tool (software or hardware that allows you to disguise the fact that your IP address comes from a non-U.S. provider), you will get the dreaded "this video is not available in your country" warning.