Microsoft to Launch Xbox Music on Oct. 26

Microsoft has unveiled Xbox Music, which combines free music streaming, music subscription and purchasing into an all-in-one service.

The company will first roll out the service on its Xbox 360 video game console and later in October on personal and tablet computers and smartphones.

Xbox Music will come pre-installed as the default music player for the Windows 8 operating system that is to be officially launched on Oct. 26.

With the new service, users can listen to streaming songs for free, from a catalog of over 30 million titles, on PCs and tablets running on Windows 8.

They can also choose to pay $9.99 per month to get unlimited access to songs on various devices.

The service includes an on-line store that allows users to buy single songs or entire album on their computers or smartphones.

It also allows users to create the so-called "Internet radio" based on their favorite artists.