Napster and cellular infrastructure vendor Ericsson said Wednesday they will team to create a music service that mobile operators can offer to their subscribers.

The move comes as phone vendors and operators are moving increasingly toward turning cell phones into mobile music and video devices. Sony Ericsson, for example, this week unveiled a Walkman-branded cell phone and Motorola has said it will release a phone that works with Apple's iTunes service.

The new service will use the Napster name and will incorporate existing Ericsson technology for personalizing media services. The service will launch in Europe sometime in the next year and eventually will be offered to wireless operators in the Americas and Asia, the companies said.

"Ericsson and Napster are uniquely suited to offer mobile operators a simple, cohesive and personalized digital music experience for their consumers," Chris Gorog, Napster's Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The service will support both over-the-air and PC-based downloads. It also will support the subscription model as well as purchase of specific songs and albums by non-subscribers, the company said. Wireless operators will share in all revenues generated by the service, the companies said in a statement.

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