LONDON (AP) — Virgin Media, the cable TV operator owned by entrepreneur Richard Branson, launched a new kind of music download subscription service yesterday with Universal, the world's largest music company.

The service, described by the companies as a world first, will allow Virgin Media's broadband customers in Britain to stream and download as many songs and albums as they like from Universal's catalogue for a fee. But entertainment lawyers said the service was unlikely to solve the global music industry's problem of billions of dollars lost to music piracy, and would need to offer content from big-name entertainers to be attractive to consumers. Universal, by far the biggest industry player, has a roster of talent that includes U2, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse, Duffy and James Morrison. Virgin said it was continuing talks with other British major and independent music labels and publishers about including their artists.