Amazon.com Inc launched an early version of its highly anticipated digital music download store, which is seen as a potential rival to Apple Inc’s dominant iTunes system.

Amazon’s store, named “Amazon MP3,” allows users to buy music without copy protection technology, so that the songs can play on a variety of devices including Apple’s iPod.

Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than half of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents, the online retailer said in a statement.