Spotify launches in Hong Kong

It's been a long wait, but Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service, finally landed in Hong Kong last month. The music service which lets subscribers stream music for free already has 24 million users around the world - six million of whom are now paying customers.

So how does the service work? Spotify is essentially a huge online database of music, with a social twist. Users can search for songs or artists, share playlists, check out what celebrities are listening to - if you're curious about what is Justin Timberlake's jam, for instance - or let Spotify suggest a customised radio station based on your favourite song.

When it was launched in 2008 in Europe, the service was hailed as a game changer. For a music industry plagued by illegal downloads, Spotify offered users both easy access to online tracks and a way to contribute financially, either through ad exposure or by paying a subscription. Today it is available in 20 countries and is one of the most popular ways to listen to music legally online.

The desktop version of Spotify is free, but there are ads. If you want a clean listening experience - audio ads are loud and abrasive, and the visual ads force the Spotify window to the top of your desktop - or to be able to listen on your mobile device, you'll have to spring for the premium membership, which costs HK$48 a month.

This gets you better sound quality, the ability to download songs to listen to offline and you can download your entire iTunes music library onto Spotify and save it online.

Even without uploading your personal library, Spotify's collection of songs is large and still growing. The service claims to have more than 20 million songs, but the selection varies from country to country.