Nokia plans to expand Comes With Music, its UK-based unlimited music service, in both Australia and Singapore later this quarter, and is eyeing further expansion in Europe and the United States, according to Reuters. That indicates that the world's top handset maker may release more cell phones compatible with the service in the U.S. like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

"The next two countries which we are going to roll out in the next 10 weeks are going to be in Asia, in Australia and Singapore," Tero Ojanpera, the head of entertainment and communities at Nokia, said at the MidemNet annual digital music gathering in Cannes. "We'll be launching there in the first quarter of 2009, in February and March."

Ojanpera said that the hold-up, as usual, is securing rights to the music in each of the territories; the laws differ from country to country with regard to both the recording side and the publishing side of the music business, according to the report. So far, Comes With Music appears to be a well-executed idea that lets Nokia handset owners download as much music as they want over a 12-month period, and then keep it afterward for free.