VUDU, that in-home movie rental service often referred to as being the highest quality HD streaming solution available out there, has just made another step to conquer the hearts and TVs of its users. It will offer them streaming video morsels from YouTube, CNN, PBS, National Geographic, MSNBC, PBS and other such providers. And that’s just merely the beginning.

This new feature is called RIA or Rich Internet Application platform and it will also allow VUDU users to play around with Flickr and Picasa or literally play around with some casual games. All this will be made available as a free firmware update who should hit VUDU set-top boxes as you read this. The new features can be accessed by selecting the “Vudu Labs” tab on the main screen.

This RIA initiative seems to be VUDU’s way to challenge heavy-weight competitors such as TiVo, and it could be a most effective strategy, mainly because of VUDU’s HD edge. Still, RIA is only taking its baby steps, despite the bombastic claim of offering 120 “channels”. For now, we’re talking about simple free Web content available without any sort of deals made by VUDU with the providers of that content.

So what VUDU users will get is a lot of short clips and mini-highlights; there are some full episodes out there, but not to many, according to CNET. The reason for this, VUDU explains, is that if you’re to access full TV stuff from sites such as Hulu, Fox or CBS, you need a contractual agreement and a full Web browser.

And yet, despite its shortcomings, the RIA is the perfect foundation for building a really awesome source of free Internet content on the TV– all viewed in HD.