Google, music companies launch China download service

Google Inc and major music companies have launched a free Internet music download service for China on Monday in a bid to help turn a field dominated by pirates into a profitable legitimate business.

The companies said the advertising-supported service will offer 1.1 million tracks, including the full catalogs of Chinese and Western music for Warner Music Group Corp, EMI Group Ltd, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music and 14 independent labels. It will be limited to use by computers whose Internet protocol, or IP, addresses show they are in mainland China.

Chinese pirate Web sites offer downloads of unauthorized copies of music despite repeated lawsuits and government crackdowns.