According to a report by the San Jose Mercury News, Microsoft plans to announce its long-anticipated online music store this week. The software giant will reportedly launch the MSN Music Store with the new version of its Windows Media 10 player. “Early-release versions of the player look like knock-offs of Apple’s iTunes Music Store, complete with brushed nickel finish. But hey, why mess with success? A button in the upper right corner of the player will take consumers to the download store. Microsoft has told entertainment executives that it expects to introduce as many as 130 million people to its music download store as computer users are prompted to update their media player software. And that’s not counting the 300 million people who drop by the MSN site.”
