ELECTION night TV is to be a high-tech extravaganza with presenters and pundits suspended in virtual reality as broadcasters deploy video graphics more usually seen in Hollywood blockbusters.

Peter Snow's swingometer will have to compete with all manner of animated gimmicks as the main TV stations bring a touch of the movies to the climax of the 2001 poll.

The BBC, ITN and Sky News are all boasting of computer wizardry bringing to life the battle for Westminster.

ITN's team, led by Jonathan Dimbleby, will report from an election set built over two floors in the giant atrium of its London headquarters.

Presenter Dermot Murnaghan will "float" around in what is claimed to be Europe's largest virtual reality studio, transporting him from a lifelike 3D model of the House of Commons to a giant map of Britain as he analyses the results.

Fellow presenter Katie Derham will by doing the same thing for real, flying by plane and helicopter from Edinburgh to Manchester, then on to Birmingham and London, to gauge the mood of voters through the night.

Steve Anderson, ITV controller of news, said it was "the most amazing box of video tricks I've ever seen on television".

Sky News is also offering viewers a virtual reality experience.

Political editor Adam Boulton and his panel will sit at what Sky is calling an "intelligent table", from which will sprout virtual 3D graphs of the results.

Sky presenter Martin Stanford will spend most of the night in a "virtual 3D graphics gym", dodging more graphs and charts showing how the House of Commons will be made up.

Meanwhile, Mr Boulton, borrowing a technique honed by Sky's football pundits, will be using an electronic pen to scribble arrows on the screen to explain the numbers.

The BBC's election night coverage will be more traditional, with David Dimbleby heading a line-up that includes Jeremy Paxman, Fiona Bruce, Peter Snow and political editor Andrew Marr.

In common with the other broadcasters, the BBC will also have reporters around the country, with John Sopel in Tony Blair's constituency, Huw Edwards with William Hague, and Sally Magnusson with Charles Kennedy.

The fortunes of political figures such as Peter Mandelson, Kenneth Clarke and Boris Johnson will also be followed.

Viewers with digital televisions will have access to extra services.

They will be able to call up results services including the BBC's Swingometer and view individual constituency results and analyses, plus background and trend turnouts.

BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live will be joining forces for the night, led by Today programme presenter James Naughtie.

And for the first time, the Internet is set to be a rich source of election result information, with www.bbc.co.uk, itv-election.co.uk and www.sky.com/news offering coverage and background.

For a light-hearted view of the poll, Channel 5 is offering viewers Politicians Behaving Badly, complete with clips showing the antics of elected representatives the world over.

Hosted by US talk show host Jerry Springer, the show will feature PR guru Max Clifford analysing the results as they come in.

Read more about the Election here.