Apple: 5 billion songs sold by iTunes

Cupertino, Calif. -- The U.S. computer company Apple Thursday announced that music fans have bought and downloaded more than 5 billion songs from its iTunes Store.

Apple described iTunes as the No. 1 music retailer in the United States. The virtual music store features a catalog with more than 8 million songs.

The company added that iTunes customers are now renting and buying more than 50,000 movies every day, making iTunes the world's most popular online movie store.

Users can rent movies and watch them on their Macs or PCs, all current generation iPods, iPhones and on widescreen televisions with Apple TV. ITunes Store customers can also purchase new movie releases from major film studios and independent studios on the same day as their DVD release, Apple said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.