A federal judge in San Francisco said today that he wants the trial on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 to be videotaped and distributed over the Internet.

"This certainly is a case that has sparked widespread interest," U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker said during a hearing. "I think a trial can be highly informative."

If Walker's view is endorsed, as expected, by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the legal battle over same-sex marriage will become the first federal trial in nine Western states to be videotaped for public distribution, according to Thomas Burke, a media attorney.

In addition to running the entire proceedings on a delayed basis on YouTube, the videotape would be broadcast at several other federal courthouses, Walker said.