Microsoft unveiled its MSN music download service in eight new European countries today in an attempt to fend off a recent expansion push by archrival Apple Computer's iTunes.
With the new territories, Microsoft has extended its music download business to 19 market versions in 17 countries, including 13 Western European countries.
Apple's iTunes, the market-leading music download service, last week launched in nine new European countries, bringing the worldwide total to a dozen in Europe plus the United States.
A successful music download service is increasingly important to Microsoft's strategy to make its Portable Media Center and Windows Media software the de-facto playback technologies for portable media devices and topple the popularity of Apple's iPod.
Microsoft said it had launched new MSN download stores in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland through a partnership with CDON.com, an online retailer owned by Swedish media company Modern Times Group.
Through a similar arrangement with Loudeye Corp.'s OD2 unit, Microsoft will be launching in Spain, The Netherlands, Austria and two versions for Switzerland - in French and German languages.
Microsoft, which launched a download service over two years before Apple in Europe, has had difficulty keeping up with the popularity of Apple's iTunes, industry observers say.
But neither Apple nor Microsoft have disclosed much detail on download sales, giving analysts only a partial picture of the market potential for Europe and no clear sign of which company out of the dozens of online music stores has grabbed the early lead.