To help redefine the digital music experience, the Microsoft Zune team has developed a new way for anyone with an Internet connection and an interest in music to simultaneously expand their listening and social frontiers. This week, Microsoft introduced a beta version of Zune Social, a new online community Web site designed to connect people through music, by helping them share their music tastes, knowledge and experiences. Microsoft also launched a new line of Zune portable media players, as well upgraded software and online store.

Zune Social eliminates some of the barriers that make discovering new music more difficult in a market saturated with choices. With Zune Social, music fans can easily discover new music by listening to sample tracks displayed upon Zune Card profiles posted by community members, send recommendations of favorite songs to friends, and even meet people with similar musical tastes. The best recommendations are usually word-of-mouth – from friends, family and tastemakers. Zune Social was designed with all of that in mind.

Zune Social complements the upgraded Zune software, easily accessed by clicking on the “Social” tab located on the main screen of Zune Marketplace. Once inside, visitors can view friends’ Zune Cards or review charts of the most popular artists, songs and albums, as ranked by the Zune Social music community. The community consists of music fans who register for a Zune Card at no charge, but is not limited to only owners of Zune players. The customizable Zune Card is updated automatically to display the music a user has listened to recently on their Zune device or Zune software on their PC.