<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <nitf> <!-- Example of markup of URLs (at the bottom of the story) --> <head> <meta name="ap-cycle" content="AP"/> <meta name="ap-online-code" content="1700"/> <meta name="ap-company" content="CO:Media Metrix Inc;TS:MMXI;IG:SVC;"/> <meta name="ap-routing" content="ENTITLEMENTS,pfONLINE,pf1700"/> <meta name="ap-format" content="bx"/> <meta name="ap-category" content="f"/> <meta name="ap-selector" content="-----"/> <meta name="ap-transref" content="V0347"/> <docdata> <doc-id regsrc="AP" id-string="D76UIMO80"/> <urgency ed-urg="7"/> <date.issue norm="20000911T185842Z"/> <du-key key="Napster Traffic"/> <doc.copyright holder="(AP)"/> </docdata> </head> <body> <body.head> <hedline> <hl1>Use of Napster Quadruples</hl1> </hedline> <byline>By PETER SVENSSON <byttl>AP Business Writer</byttl> </byline> <distributor>The Associated Press</distributor> <dateline> <location>NEW YORK</location> </dateline> </body.head> <body.content> <block> <p>Despite the uncertain legality of the Napster online music-sharing service, the number of people using it more than quadrupled in just five months, Media Metrix said Monday.</p> <p>That made Napster the fastest-growing software application ever recorded by the Internet research company.</p> <p>From 1.1 million home users in the United States in February, the first month Media Metrix tracked the application, Napster use rocketed to 4.9 million users in July.</p> <p>That represents 6 percent of U.S. home PC users who have modems, said Media Metrix, which pays people to install monitoring software on their computers.</p> <p>It estimates total usage from a panel of about 50,000 people in the United States.</p> <p>Napster was also used at work by 887,000 people in July, Media Metrix said.</p> <p>Napster Inc. has been sued by the recording industry for allegedly enabling copyright infringement. The federal government weighed in on the case Friday, saying the service is not protected under a key copyright law, as the San Mateo, Calif., company claims.</p> <p>Bruce Ryon, head of Media Metrix's New Media Group, said Napster was used by "the full spectrum of PC users, not just the youth with time on their hands and a passion for music."</p> <p>The Napster program allows users to copy digital music files from the hard drives of other users over the Internet.</p> <p>Napster Inc. said last week that 28 million people had downloaded its program. It does not reveal its own figures for how many people actually use the software.</p> <p>Because the program connects to the company's computers over the Internet every time it is run, Napster Inc. can track usage exactly.</p> <p>__</p> <p>On the Net:</p> <p><a href="http://www.napster.com"> http://www.napster.com</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.mediametrix.com"> http://www.mediametrix.com</a></p> </block> </body.content> </body> </nitf>