Click for the Top Gear channel welcome video on YouTube

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Top_Gear_channel_launches_on_YouTube'; Top Gear is easily the most popular car show in the world, and one of the most popular shows altogether. But since it doesn't reach every corner the globe, the daily miracle that is the internet fills in the gaps. The BBC's approach to the online airing of Top Gear episodes has been an ongoing saga, with the company initially ordering YouTube to take them down, then putting the episodes on their own site before striking a deal with YouTube to allow episodes to be shown on the popular online video portal. The latest chapter in the saga now has Top Gear launching its own YouTube channel, which has now gone live. The channel features a vast library of Top Gear segments, including car reviews celebrity interviews and of course the famous epic challenges. All in all some 30 new clips have been added, and the channel will also host viewer competitions for prizes and whatnot. The new channel could potentially also host episodes of the American and upcoming Australian versions of the series as well, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.

Follow the jump to watch a video of Top Gear magazine editor Michael Harvey introducing the new Top Gear channel (and instantly realize why he's not hosting the TV show), and click right here to jump to the Top Gear channel on YouTube.

[Source: Top Gear YouTube via FinalGear.com]