The representatives have held discussions with both Acti-vision and MTV Games, the respective makers of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, in which players strum along to favourite songs or form virtual bands.

A final deal would be worth several million dollars, according to a person familiar with the talks, and could be reached in a matter of weeks. However, it would have first to win the blessing of both Apple Corps, the company established by the band to oversee its business interests, and EMI, the UK music group that owns the Beatles master recordings. Both declined to comment