Napster to launch in Ireland

Napster, the internet-based file sharing system that allowed music lovers to download and copy their favourite tracks, will launch its new legal incarnation in Ireland before the end of the summer.

Chris Gorog, chief executive of Roxio Inc, the California-based company that brought Napster out of bankruptcy, made the announcement at a discussion forum on the music industry in Dublin yesterday. Now known as Napster 2.0, the system is already available in the US.