UPDATE: The New York Times confirms [1] that Apple will start rental movies in January and adds that Apple has reached deals with more than one studio.

According to the Financial Times [2], Apple and the 20th Century Fox studios may have signed a deal allowing Apple to rent movies from the studio via iTunes.

The deal could be announced during the January 15 annual MacWorld Expo opening keynote the report claims.

"The agreement will allow consumers to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a digital copy from Apple’s iTunes platform for a limited time, according to a person familiar with the situation."

In addition, DVDs sold by Fox, could also include another version of the content in an Apple compatible format which will include Apple's FairPlay technology.

Apple has long been rumoured to be planning a rental movies offer, as its Apple TV suffers from lack of content.