The name Limewire is usually thought of as a file sharing program for use on P2P networks. But now, Lime Wire LLC has jumped onto the crowded DRM-free bandwagon and entered the legal music download market. At the time of writing, the Limewire music store is in the beta stage and hosts approximately 500,000 tracks. Customers in the United States get the first bite out of the new music service, with an international rollout promised in the near future.

So, what's the service like? Most of the content is from independent artists and record labels with only a handful of big names. Although not as big as most of the digital music services on the internet, Lime Wire say that they will be adding, "thousands of tracks daily." Presently, all music tracks can be purchased for $0.99 and downloaded as 256 kbps MP3 files.

A subscription model is also offered as an alternative to the pay-per-click option and is priced as follows:

• Silver ($9.99 per month) - 25 download credits.
• Gold ($14.99 per month) - 50 download credits.
• Platinum ($19.99 per month) - 75 download credits.

The fact that Lime Wire have a legal music store and also offer a file sharing program at the same time might seem hypocritical to some. The majority of file sharing networks are inherently swamped with illegal files that can be downloaded for free. Although Lime Wire can be congratulated for its launch of its legal music store, how many file sharers are going to be convinced to pay for music that they can already get for free using their P2P program - to pay or not to pay, that is the question?