The NHL has become the first pro sports league to strike a deal with YouTube, the increasingly popular video sharing Web site, to provide NHL content and share some advertising revenue.

Under the agreement, some NHL game highlights will be available within 24 hours of broadcast. The partnership allows the league to protect its copyrighted video, which it can have removed from the site or share revenue from ads placed around it. Soon, the site will debut an NHL link: www.youtube.com/nhl.

Launched in February 2005, YouTube.com has become the must-visit site for a wide variety of video clips that include political gaffes and lots of moments in sports, such as the UM-FIU brawl at the Orange Bowl last month. This week, Google completed its $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube.

Other sports leagues are also exploring whether to partner with YouTube.