MP3s are digital audio files that have been shrunken down while still maintaining their original sound quality. Before there were MP3s, digital audio files took hours to download. But on a 56K modem, most MP3s can be downloaded in just a few minutes. MP3s are widely recognized as the most popular format.

MP3 is short for MPEG Audio Layer 3. MPEG refers to the Moving Pictures Experts Group, an organization that sets international standards for digital formats for audio and video. The file-shrinking technology itself was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany.

How did these little files cause such a huge stir?

No doubt about it: MP3s are one of the most exciting developments in the history of recorded music. They're online. MP3s are ideal for Internet distribution because they sound great, they download in a jiffy and there are plenty available onlithese little files cause such a huge stands of free songs ready for you to enjoy.

You can make your own MP3s. With some simple software, a PC and a few clicks of a mouse, anyone can create MP3 files from their own CD collection.

You can manage your music in totally new ways. Now that some of your favorite songs exist in these small, movable files, you can create playlisas in a snap then listen to them on your portable player, your desktop,and just about anywhere you have Internet access. And the future of digital music looks bright as Internet access becomes more and more far-reaching.

Those portable MP3 players are tiny. Most portable MP3 players, such s in a snap then listen to them on your portabler, are about one-third the size of a Sony Discman and hardly ever skip. MP3 players can be small enough to be integrated into other electronic devices like personal digital assistants and even wristwatches!

Get the music you want, when you want it. For many music fans, MP3 has become a symbol of total freedom, opening new distribution channels, unveiling a whole other world of music delivery beyond the heavily marketed, repetitive programming of commercial radio and MTV.

MP3s are the format of choice. Unlike other proprietary formats such as Liquid Audio and Windows Media Audio, MP3 is an open standard, meaning channels, unveiling a whole other world of music deliverre more MP3 listeners, software programs and hardware devices than any other CD-quality audio format in the world.

MP3 is simply a file format. Just like a regular CD, they can be pirated or used illegally. All MP3s that are available on MP3.com are legal and contain artist, record label, etc.

Listening to mp3's on winamp is the right way to enjoy the tunes. The new version is available for free download in their official site. It's the favorite tool for most of mp3 fans because of its easy to use and handy interface as well as customizable, wide variety of skins and plug-ins.