Software maker Roxio Inc, the new owner of Napster, has acquired the music service pressplay - laying the groundwork for a competitive Windows-based offering against Apple Computer Inc's online music store.

　　Roxio, best known for its CD-burning software, said on Monday it acquired pressplay, a venture jointly owned by Universal Musicsgroupsand Sony Music Entertainment, for about US million.

　　The company said it plans to use pressplay as the foundation for a new online music service under the name that set Internet music file-swapping in motion. The deal means Universal and Sony will become minority owners in a service named after their former nemesis.

　　"This is Napster's second coming," said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates. "The record labels crucified him, and now he's going to come back and be their savior."

　　The new service will "retain the overall feel and vibe of Napster," said Chris Gorog, Roxio's chairman and chief executive. He would not elaborate on details, including whether the new Napster would include the famous file-swapping technology that upset the record industry and doomed the company in a sea of copyright infringement litigation.

　　Santa Clara-based Roxio purchased pressplay for US.5 million in cash and approximately 3.9 million shares of Roxio common stock, the companies said.

　　Based on Roxio's closing stock price on Friday, the purchase price would be approximately US.5 million, the companies said.

　　Roxio bought the Napster brand on the cheap in November after the company, sued into submission by the music labels, dissolved.

　　"With our acquisition of Napster we obtained the most powerful brand in the online music space. Now, with our acquisition of pressplay, we have the most complete and scalable legal technology infrastructure to use as a platform to relaunch Napster," Gorog said.

　　The deal comes on the heels of the surprising success of the Apple iTunes Music Store. The online pay-per-download service for Macintosh users, which boasts virtually no restrictions on how and where the songs can be played, sold more than 2 million tracks within 16 days of its April 28 launch.