The AMP starter page

Hoping to pose as a contender to iTunes and Windows Media Player, Adobe has launched a new desktop media player in beta.

The company has already made deals with major content publishers from the web and TV, including CBS, PBS, Yahoo! Video, and Meredith Corporation, among others.

Adobe Media Player or "AMP" is a "lightweight" application with a flexible content distribution system. Publishers can offer subscriptions via RSS, include "viewer-centric dynamic advertising"; sell content, and customize the look and feel of the player.

The player also features "sophisticated" measurement of user data and content protection options like streaming encryption, content integrity safeguards, and identity-based protection.

Riding the hype train for the "fusion of TV and the internet," the AMP includes features like full-screen mode, which can bring "the web's most popular video format," Adobe Flash Video, to the desktop.

This is the second announcement this week about a major move by Adobe. It made headlines yesterday after acquiring Virtual Ubiquity, the developer of online word processor BuzzWord, a rival to Google Docs and Spreadsheets.