Virgin Group Ltd. will be retailing a portable music player to compete with Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod.

The San Jose, California based company said its player will hold as many as 2,400 songs, or 80 CDs with 5GB of storage space while weighing at a mere 3.1 ounces. The device also incorporates a FM radio tuner, a feature not available with Apple’s iPods.

This move by the company follows the start of the company’s online music service earlier in September. The player will have a price tag of $249, the same as Apple’s iPod mini, said Greg Woock, Virgin Electronics Chief Executive. The digital song trade market in the US, including services by Apple, Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp., may grow to $1.7 billion by 2009 from $270 million currently, according to JupiterResearch in New York. "The market has exploded and is literally doubling year over year today," said Woock.

Apple has sold approximately 3.7 million iPods to date, from their release back in October 2001. Sales of iPods have contributed in making Apple the fifth-best performing stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index this year.

The philosophy behind the player differs from Apple’s iPod, said Woock. While both players allow playing of songs ripped from CDs, it can play songs from non-Virgin digital music services, while the iPod is only able to play songs from Apple’s iTunes music store.

"We’re trying to do things a little bit differently from them. We just kind of feel like we want people to have the freedom to choose. If they’ve already got a player and like our software, then go use your player and our software," said Woock.

"With the addition of the Virgin Player 5GB, Virgin brings together a fantastic music player, a comprehensive music service, music retail distribution and a record label under one brand," said Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group.