Microsoft has launched its music platform, MSN Music, in eight more European countries - Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Holland, Austria and Switzerland. The expansion will see Microsoft step up its fight against Apple who still dominate the legitimate download market with their iTunes service and iPod music players.
Micosoft's European service is actually more expensive than iTunes - Apple charges 0.99 Euros per track, where as MSN Music charges between 0.99 and 1.29 Euros. However Microsoft hope that the fact their service is compatible with more portable music players will help them achieve competitive advantage in the download space.
MSN's European expansion follows a similar move by Apple last week - they launched iTunes in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.