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Quoting figured from Business Computer News (BCN) that give the iPod a 60 per cent market share, Apple said that it is now the number one player by a 'wide margin'. iTunes has been the most popular downloads store since its launch in August.

'It has been a tremendous year for Apple and music in Japan with the opening of the iTunes Music Store and the introduction of the impossibly small iPod nano and fifth generation iPod,' said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Ichiro Michikoshi, editor-in-chief of WebBCN Ranking, said that all eyes are now on Apple to see how much it will grow in the Christmas period.

'Consistently maintaining a market share surpassing 50 per cent since September, Apple has grown to be the only winner in the portable audio market in Japan,' he said.