Customers with Ntl's TVDrive boxes in Coventry, Ashford and Basildon have seen their cable service change appearance in the past few days.

With selected customers happily trialling the new Virgin Media box, others are experiencing difficulties with the new electronic programme guide settings, with NTL customer service staff unable to assist with the problem.

Ntl said the move does not mark a "soft launch" of Virgin media and that customer care staff wouldn't necessarily know about the rollout yet as it is a ¡°small scale launch¡± and were only briefed recently.

In a statement, Ernie Cormier, chief commercial officer of Ntl:Telewest, said: "In preparation for the launch of Virgin Media we have recently changed the electronic programme guide (EPG) on the digital TV service of around 34,000 customers in Coventry, Basildon and Ashford."

"The new Virgin TV guide has been developed with input from customers and this small-scale launch is the first stage of a wider rollout that will take place following the arrival of the new company."

"Customer care staff have recently been briefed about the changes and if a customer suspects they have a fault with the software, or their TV service, they should contact us in the normal way. There have been no widespread faults reported with the Virgin TV guide and the functionality is very similar to our previous software. The look has changed, but it should soon feel familiar to customers once they start using it."

Cormier also said that the company would be contacting some of the 34,000 customers to discuss their experiences and any feedback they have and that this feedback would be built into the final version of the guide which will be rolled-out across the country.

Ntl:Telewest customers in Northern Ireland and Glasgow have also reported problems to their service, but this is not thought to be related to the rollout.

Yesterday, The Independent reported that Virgin Media's head of internal communications James Wheeley had publicly admitted that Ntl had a history of "crap service," identifying what he called a "synergy hell" in integrating the Virgin brand and ideology into the Ntl:Telewest corporate structure.

Next month the group is reported to start a ¡ê20 million marketing campaign, fronted by actress Uma Thurman, as it launches as Virgin Media on February 14.