Does this surprise anyone? Well, it is a bit surprising as this move comes a little late in the game. Microsoft is about to launch a music store/service for the Zune and possibly the Xbox. According to Peter Bale, the executive producer of MSN, Microsoft is “looking at launching a music streaming service imminently.” The new service should be available sometime in August and it’s apparently going to be similar to Spotify. Will cell phone users be able to use it too?

The service will probably be offered for free as long as users agree to listen to ads every half hour. Is Microsoft going to reinvent the whole iTunes concept? Nothing is clear so far and we’ll be looking forward to see Steve Ballmer explain this to the crowd.

via Joystiq