Apple iTunes store to open in Philippines, Singapore [u]

Apple appears ready to open the virtual doors to its iTunes store in the Philippines and Singapore, putting an end to over three months of rumors sparked by a "Parental Control" setting in iTunes 10.6.

Update: Apple released an official announcement saying that iTunes has launched in 12 more countries in Asia, and besides the Philippines and Singapore, customers in Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam can now access paid music, movies and books.

AppleInsider readers noted on Tuesday that they were able to access the Apple iTunes store in both the Philippines and Singapore after it was suggested in a March report that the service was on the verge of being launched in a number of Asian countries.

While purchases cannot yet be made, users can browse music, movies and books in the two countries' storefronts. The Philippines iTunes store features a dedicated section for "Original Pinoy Music" while the Singapore landing page offers popular songs from China, Thailand and America.

When the stores go live, they will join the 12 locations added in December and will continue Apple's worldwide expansion of the digital media distribution service. It was reported in September 2011 that all major EU states had joined the iTunes fold after eight years of waiting, though licensing disputes and marketplace fragmentation have hindered efforts to open a pan-European store.

Apple's official iTunes Support Page does not yet advertise the availability of for-purchase media in either the Philippines or Singapore.