Google adds music, movie capabilities

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. search-engine giant Google, expanding its reach to different venues end-users frequent, announced its foray into music and movie markets Tuesday.

Google, with headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., said the new music service, now in testing, allows music-lovers to upload their music choices to a computer or Android smartphone.

"With the new service, your music and play lists are automatically kept in sync, so if you create a new play list on your phone, it's instantly available on your computer or tablet," Google said in a blog posted on its Web site.

The service is available to U.S. users by invitation, company officials said during a Google I/O meeting in San Francisco.

The new music service allows users to upload personal music collection "to listen anywhere, keep everything in sync, and forget the hassle of cables and files," Google announced on its music Web site.

Google also said thousands of movies titles are available through the Android Market online software store for a $1.99 rental. The movies are available for all Android devices, meaning users can "rent a movie on your home computer, and it'll be available for viewing on your tablet or phone," the blog said.

YouTube, owned by Google, said Monday it was adding about 3,000 movie titles for rent by U.S. users.

"Six years ago, there were two types of video: video you watched on your TV and video you watched on your laptop," a blog posted by YouTube and cross-posted on Google's Web site said. "Today, there's increasingly just video, and it's available everywhere: on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a television screen, in your office, on your couch, in a cab."