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Microsoft caused a furore back in April, when it announced that it would be turning off its DRM servers at the end of August 2008, meaning that anybody who bought music through the now defunct MSN music service would no longer be able to receive authorisation to move it between devices.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation accused the software company of "betraying" its customers, and demanded an apology.

And it now appears to have received one, of a

"After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided to continue to support the authorisation of new computers and devices and delivery of new license keys for MSN Music customers through at least the end of 2011, after which we will evaluate how much this functionality is still being used and what steps should be taken next to support our customers," the emailed statement reads.

"This means you will continue to be able to listen to your purchased music and transfer your music to new PCs and devices beyond the previously announced August 31, 2008 date. Microsoft continues to recommend that you back up your music on CD or hard drive along with other important data."

When questioned on the reasons for the extension, Microsoft says: We always planned to offer alternative solutions for MSN Music customers as we approached the 31 August date.

"After deeper investigation, we decided the best solution for customers was to keep the license servers running and continue to enable them to transfer their music to new computers and devices."