UK’s Radio and music specialist Chrysalis will unveil a service enabling listeners to download and buy songs on to their mobile phones. The group’s new mobile division will focus on offering mobile phone ringtones based on songs, but the service is designed to exploit technology allowing mobile phone users to download the actual songs as MP3 files.

It will offer monophonic and polyphonic ringtones, real tunes, images and full song downloads.

The move comes just two weeks after rival radio group GWR launched its “Hear it, buy it, burn it” service, which allows listeners to download songs being broadcast on to their PCs as part of a deal struck with OD2, Europe’s largest distributor of legally authorised digital music.