Apple has shared the iPod limelight with a number of third-party manufacturers who have released products to extend the reach of the personal music player even further.

An agreement with car manufacturer BMW allows for connection of an iPod directly to a car stereo without the need for cumbersome adaptors or a constant power source supplied by an in-car cigarette lighter.

The BMW-driving iPod enthusiast will be able to access their music player's library using their usual car stereo interface.

The in-car capability will even allow the driver to use stereo controls that feature on some cars' steering wheels, while the iPod remains neatly stowed away in the glove compartment.

Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said: "We want to extend the iPod to the music around your home and in your car. We want to be at the forefront of the digital music experience."

The feature already has limited availability in the US, but Schiller said it would arrive on European shores this autumn.

He added that audio equipment manufacturers including Altec Lansing, Bose and UBL have designed speaker systems with built-in docking stations for the iPod and its mini equivalent.

And the recent introduction of the Airport Express docking station for the iPod allows owners of the device to play its libraries wirelessly through other stereo equipment in the home.

Schiller revealed that in the 10 weeks since the UK, German and French iTunes sites were launched, five million songs have been downloaded by iTunes users.

He said that the arrival of a pan-European English iTunes download site in October would be something that would "bring legal downloads to more and more people".