MICROSOFT has launched an online digital music download service in direct competition with the Apple's new offering.

The new service, launched with Peter Gabriel's digital music company OD2, lets you download individual tracks without requiring a monthly subscription.

And there are over 200,000 tracks by 8,500 artists including Eminem, Christina Aguilera, Ms. Dynamite and David Gray.

You can download individual tracks via the MSN Music Club (www.msn.co.uk) from 75p through the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Media Player.

Microsoft's rival Apple has enjoyed big success in the US offering music fans individual tracks for download with its service iTunes, but has yet to extend the offer to European music lovers.