ZUNE TO LAUNCH IN THE UK

This week, Microsoft announced the further international expansion of Zune, its digital entertainment service. This fall, Zune will expand its music and video footprint and bring the free Zune software, Zune Marketplace online store, Zune Pass1 music subscription service and enhanced features on Zune.net to customers in the UK and other international markets, providing a comprehensive entertainment experience on Windows-based PCs, on the go with Windows Phone 7 and in your living room through Xbox LIVE.

PC, Phone and Xbox
When the service launches, consumers in the UK will be able to purchase MP3s from Zune Marketplace and listen to them on their Windows-based PC, Windows Phone 7 or any other device that supports MP3 format. Users will also be able to purchase music videos to enjoy on Windows-based PC, Windows Phone 7 and Zune on Xbox LIVE.

The international expansion of the service is the latest step in a series of milestones for Zune, including powering Bing music search results, the added ability to purchase music and video on theZune.net website and the forthcoming integration with Xbox LIVE and Kinect for Xbox 360. By continuing to integrate Zune across the most important screens to consumers, Zune provides an all-in-one music and video service for users to discover, enjoy and experience their entertainment wherever they want.

New features
Zune v4.7 provides some new features. For example, the Quickplay menu enables immediate access to recently played content, newest additions and personal favourites, and Smart DJ automatically creates playlists from the content on your PC and takes the extra step of mixing in suggested music from the Zune Marketplace.

The updated Zune Software will also enable instant streaming of high-definition movies, allowing you to watch some Zune Marketplace movies in HD, with no download time, directly on a Windows PC.