Apple Computer Corp. will announce next week its long-awaited European version of the iTunes online music store, sources familiar with the matter said.
The announcement will be made on June 15, said sources familiar with the necessary licensing negotiations between Apple and music labels.
An Apple spokesman in Holland declined to comment on the specifics of the launch. However, Apple issued a statement on Monday that it would host a press conference in London on June 15. Apple billed the event, "the biggest story in music is about to get even bigger".
Traditionally when Apple announces a new product or service, it is available straight away, adding to the speculation that the service will go live next week.
Apple launched iTunes in the United States over a year ago, capturing a commanding lead in the nascent market for music downloads.
At its peak, Apple sold 3.3 million downloads in a single week and over 70 million in its first year. In contrast, a collection of legal download services in Britain sold 500,000 between January and mid-May.
Unlike the United States, where Apple pioneered and effectively defined Internet music retailing, in Europe it will be entering a brutally competitive market, which was opened up by rival Microsoft over the past two years.
In addition, Roxio Inc. launched Napster in Britain last month, and Sony Corp said it would launch its Connect store in Britain, Germany and France by the end of June.
Apple will have to unseat Europe's most established downloads provider, OD2, which has three dozen retail partners including Microsoft's MSN and Coca-Cola.
Noting the considerable buzz around iTunes and the growing market for Apple's iPod digital music player, analysts expect Apple to catch rivals quickly in Europe.
"IPods are just selling through the roof. To launch on top of that, I should think it will do well for them over here," said Simon Dyson, an analyst with London-based Informa Media.
He added Apple is on track to sell another three million iPods this fiscal year to end-September, taking the installed base to over four million.
The iPod is the only available portable music player that plays songs from the iTunes music store.
The major music labels have been anxious for industry-backed online music stores to launch in Europe to combat the steady trade in pirated music swapped over the Internet that they say is crippling CD sales.
Earlier this year, Apple complained bitterly that the labels themselves were to blame for the delay of legitimate music services, saying the licensing red tape was bogging down its launch plans.
Napster, which started in the UK last month, announced on Monday it had extended its music library to 700,000 songs -- the most in Europe.
Apple has kept the specifics of its plans in Europe a closely guarded secret. The company is expected to detail next week which countries it will serve and with how many songs.