Los Angeles, Dec 25 (IANS): Executives at Sony Pictures Entertainment have released "The Interview" on a variety of online platforms including YouTube Movies, Google Play, Microsoft's Xbox Video and Sony's own dedicated website www.seetheinterview.com.

the film, which was uploaded online Wednesday, can be rented for $5.99 and purchased in HD for $14.99, reports hollywoodreporter.com, according to the announcement.

“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment, said.

“With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, Dec 17, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible. We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today," he added.

The comedy film, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, revolves around a fictitious US plot to assassinate the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Earlier, the studio scrapped plans to release the film on Christmas because of threatening e-mails by hackers who stole extensive amounts of Sony employee data, including the social security numbers and medical records of over 3,000 employees.

But later it was announced that the film will be released in select theatres.

“We never stopped pursuing as wide a release as possible for 'The Interview'. It was essential for our studio to release this movie, especially given the assault upon our business and our employees by those who wanted to stop free speech.

“We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand the release," Lynton added.