Focusing on up-and-coming artists, mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has launched its own music download service, M-BUZZ.

The M-BUZZ service will initially feature new artists from the Sony/ATV Music label, Reuters reports. The service will use an enhanced version of PlayNow, the current version of which allows users to hear a clip of a ringtone, which can then be purchased. With new features added, M-BUZZ will allow users to download songs directly to their handsets from the internet.

Handset makers see digital music as a key growth driver for more expensive phones. More than 100 million cell phones expected to be sold this year will have come with built-in music players; that's compared with some 34 million iPods that will likely be sold this year.

The Walkman model W850 and W950 phones will be the first models that will carry M-BUZZ, and they will be available in the European, Asian and Latin American markets during the second half of 2006.