The Google Australia blog has announced that thousands of new Australian movies are now available for rental on Google Play and YouTube. Australia has fostered a rich cinematic history, producing films like Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II. Also, some of the finest actors in recent history are Australian, including Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger and the masterful Nick Cave. One of the first movie studios in the world existed on the Australian continent – the Limelight Department opened in Melbourne in 1897.

Today Google launched added Movies on Google Play as well as a Movies page on YouTube Australia, featuring thousands of films from Hollywood and regional Australian studios. Australian outfits including Roadshow Films, Icon Film Distribution, Madman Entertainment, Hopscotch and Transmission Films are offering content, as well as big Hollywood names, like Disney, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Village Roadshow Pictures and Lionsgate.

Movies can be viewed online on both the Google Play and YouTube platforms – as for mobile users, films can be rented via the Google Play app for Android, and likewise downloaded for offline viewing inside of the rental period. New releases are $5.99 at standard definition, $6.99 for HD, and older titles are $3.99 and $4.99 respectively. Said rental parameters are 30 days to begin watching a title, and 48 hours to finish it, once started.

In related news, it has been recently speculated that Google “Play” might be the name of the search giant’s upcoming Android tablet device, as the company has been seen buying up several play-related domain names.