Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said on Wednesday that it would begin field trials for a consumer version of its high-definition videoconferencing product, TelePresence, this spring.

Cisco, which already sells videoconferencing equipment to corporations, said it would partner with Verizon Communications Inc in the United States.

The new videoconferencing system will use consumers' existing high-definition television sets and broadband connections, it said.

It also said field trials in France will start later in 2010, in partnership with France Telecom.

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Derek Caney)

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