Access Remote Database With PHP - OR - Script to Replicate Remote Database

Hi there, We have a database (containing 2 tables) that need to be queried by multiple websites. The database is on a separate hosting account/server to these websites. I think we either need 1 of the following 2 solutions: 1) A script which we can install on an individual website, and the script will fetch and replicate the master database onto the individual website server via a cron job. This would need to occur daily. So an exact replica of the master database appears on the individual site, we could then set-up & use that script for each site in theory. 2) A piece of PHP script that will allow us to call/query the master database 'on the fly' from a seperate website. We have tried mysql connect using the IP address of the remote server and currently getting "Cant connect to the database". Any questions just ask,