Telesur began its news coverage with reports about planned protests against President George W Bush at the Americas summit in Argentina this week.

The channel says it will offer an alternative to US networks such as CNN.

But critics says it is a propaganda tool for the left-wing Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez.

Three other governments - Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay - also have a stake in the channel, which can be seen in more than 20 countries.

In its first news bulletin from Caracas, Telesur also reported on Venezuela's offer to supply cheap fuel to crisis-stricken Haiti.

In July, the US House of Representatives voted to enable the Bush administration to begin broadcasting its own TV signals to Venezuela.

The American plan is intended to counter what it called anti-US propaganda.