iTunes hits Nordic countries, Switzerland

Apple Computer on Tuesday opened new iTunes music stores in Northern European countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden as well as in Switzerland, bringing the total number of nations with the online music store to 19.

Downloads from the new stores are available immediately. Songs from four major music companies and more than 1,000 independent record labels will be available from these stores, Apple said. To mark the debut in Switzerland, the company teamed up with major financial services company UBS to give away free songs to every Swiss citizen on the iTunes store. Customers can pick up song cards from Swiss branches of UBS to download tracks from the online music store.