If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s the philosophy Microsoft endured as it prepares to officially launch its own online music store.

Microsoft has always stayed away from the MP3 controversy, but they clearly see that the industry must embrace the technology that cannot be beaten.

MSN Music will take on Apple’s iTunes service.

MSN Music has launched in a beta version (a test mode), offering 99 cent downloads, the same price as iTunes.

Microsoft also launched a tenth version of Windows Media Player, where users can access the downloads from. They can also be purchased online.

The songs won’t be in MP3 format, however. Microsoft says their WMA format will sound better than the format iTunes offers.

MSN promises to offer more than 1 million songs once the service is completely underway.

Don’t expect Apple to just sit back and watch Microsoft take a bite at their 50 percent market share. They told Macworld that one of the drawbacks of MSN Music is the songs don’t work with iPods, the choice handheld device for playing digital music.






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