Tesco breaks free of WMA chains

TESCO DIGITAL will soon be launched in the UK. The partly DRM-free music download concern will now offer 1.6 million Ipod-friendly MP3 files alongside the current roster 1.7-million Windows-hamstringed tunes.

Later in the year, the whole site will switch over to unprotected files, as well as offering downloadable video content including TV progs and movies.

Download prices for tracks and albums will be variable, and Tesco have also suggested that they will offer free Flash games to registered punters.

Tesco, which already swallows up a pound for every eight spent in UK shops, and unveiled record profits of £2.8 billion today, looks like it might be trying to muscle in on Apple's turf, as well as pre-empting Amazon's moves to offer a one-stop entertainment shop this summer. µ