Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs has unveiled a service that shares files across different internet-linked devices.

The new iCloud product will let users synchronize and access data on Apple devices and Windows PCs running iTunes.

With iCloud, files will be stored by Apple in remote data centres - known as the "cloud" and automatically synchronise. That means the same content is available from any Apple gadget, without it cluttering up users' hard drives.

"The PC will be the most visible casualty of the cloud revolution," said Steve Perlman, a former Apple engineer and the CEO of online game company OnLive Inc.

"We're going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device - just like an iPad, an iPhone or an iPod Touch," Mr Jobs said yesterday, adding "we're going to move the hub of your digital life to the cloud."

Apple recently completed a $1 billion data centre in North Carolina that will serve as the backbone of the iCloud service.

It will help devices synchronise calendar items, contacts, mail, iTunes songs, photos, apps and other files.

Bloomberg