Napster relaunched as a legal service at the end of 2003

The download service is giving away MP3 devices, worth $130 (�71) to anyone who subscribes for a year at $119 (�65).

The Rio Chiba Sport portable MP3 player has 128 megabytes of storage capacity and includes a stopwatch, sports headphones and an armband.

It is not known if Napster plans to extend the promotional offer to the UK.

The digital download market is still an emerging industry, with a growing number of services vying to be at the forefront of the market, including Apple's iTunes and OD2.

Copyright

Napster's website also said consumers could upgrade to a larger capacity Rio Nitrus by paying an additional $80 (�43)

Napster was transformed into a legal service at the end of last year when it started charging customers for downloading music.

The original Napster had 60 million users but was forced to close when record companies began legal action over copyright infringements.

PJ McNealy, an analyst with American Technology Research, said: "This is another example of Napster trying to be creative to drive Napster subscriptions."