BEIJING, April 27-- Digital music service RealNetworks(RNWK) has unveiled a new software, dubbed Rhapsody 25, and will offer 25 songs for free each month.

Digital music service RealNetworks has

unveiled a new software, dubbed Rhapsody 25, and will offer 25 songs

for free each month. Users who download the new Rhapsody software will get to select the 25 songs from a library of more than 1 million tunes.

RealNetworks, facing intense competition from file-swapping networks and from Apple Computer Inc., hopes to use the free service to entice music-lovers to pay for more tunes.

"We believe that once consumers experience Rhapsody and share it with their friends, many people will upgrade to one of our premium Rhapsody tiers," Rob Glaser, chairman and chief executive of RealNetworks, said in a statement.

For$9.99 a month, users will get an unlimited number of songs each month. For another$5, they can transfer the tunes to selected portable music players.

The digital music downloading business is dominated by Apple Computer Inc., with its iPod digital players and iTunes music management software.

But analysts predict that a year from now, more people will be using Rhapsody 25 than iTunes, because the free songs will be more appealing to consumers than the 30-second song previews used on iTunes.

"This is certainly one of the first vendors to challenge the model that Apple has established and which offers some real differentiation," a analyst said.

(Agencies)