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The campaign began in Norway, where the consumer ombudsman Björn Erik Thon believes that iTunes' terms and condition violate consumer rights laws, and was soon joined by groups in Denmark and Sweden. France's UFC-Que Choisir and Germany's Ferbraucherzentralen have now added their support, with Finland's Kuluttajavirasto expected to join in the near future.

Thon is currently considering legal action against Apple, having given the company a September 2006 deadline for changing iTunes' terms.

Last summer, the French parliament approved new copyright laws, but rejected proposals to force Apple to license its DRM technology to other player manufacturers. Instead it stipulated that companies who operate a 'closed' system, such as Apple

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and Sony, must strike new licensing deals with music companies that explicitly permit grant permission for them to employ their proprietary DRM. The law does not apply to the majority of music stores, which use Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM that device makers are free to license, but will apply to Microsoft's Zune player, should it be released in the country.

Apple has consistently defended its position, pointing out that if consumers want to play iTunes downloads on devices other than iPods, then they are free to burn them to a CD. However this does have drawbacks, as the CDs can only be ripped to an 'open' compressed format such as MP3 with a further loss in quality that compression entails.

In response to these latest developments, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said that the company is aware of the concerns and wants a swift resolution.

'Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful,' Neumayr said.

The Associated Press added that Apple has claimed that over the Christmas period it increased the iPods' market share in several European countries - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and Denmark - following strong advertising and sales campaigns.