In a move that could a sign of the things to come, the German company Deutsche Grammophon announced it will place much of its classical-music library online late Tuesday for sale in 42 nations.

Deutsche Grammophon is a music studio owned by Universal Music, a company which already sells DRM-Free music through AmazonMP3, but not through iTunes.

DRM-Free  means that DG Web Shop downloads will be compatible with all portable music players including iPods and Walkmans; and, of course, burnable to CD.

The company said its www.dgwebshop.com site would offer 2,400 albums, including 600 tracks that are no longer available on compact disc. Single tracks were to be priced at

Deutsche Grammophon revealed also the price scheme. The albums will cost 11 euros, while the single tracks will go for 1.29 euros.

The prestigious German label said the MP3 music files would be sold without any digital rights management (DRM) copy-blocking software. Deutsche Grammophon is associated with top orchestras and instrumental performers.

Chief executive Michael Lang said in Hamburg, "We expect a significant rise in our sales from this."

Among the highlights of the DG Web Shop are almost 600 album titles which are no longer available as CDs - these have been specially converted into MP3 files for the DG Web Shop, making them available as downloads - with more out-of-print titles to follow. The goal is to digitize all the great Deutsche Grammophon recordings to be accessible for download - a treasure of music history, always available.

The digital store launched by Deutsche Grammophon will be available on the markets like China, Russia or India where other online stores such as Apple's iTunes are not yet available.