Online music retailing has a new entrant:- Microsoft. The move is seen as an opening shot in the war to control digital media.

Of course the store will be compared to the iTunes music store operated by Apple. Launched in April 2003 iTunes commands 70% of the legal download market.

The battleground for Microsoft though is the desktop. PCs are seen as the future digital entertainment hubs. Microsoft want these hubs to be based on Windows. Apple can not be allowed to take too much of a lead.

A Microsoft spokesman readily agreed that iTunes had been the pressure, for Microsoft to make its move.

Consumers had demonstrated a preference for buying rather than renting off a site like Napster.

Without a proprietary player like Apples iPod, Microsoft will face an uphill battle. The downloads will have to be compatible with a range of third party players.