Record company EMI has jumped into bed with legal P2P download service Mashboxx, signing over the rights for all of its US music catalogue. The move marks another step in the efforts to stomp out illegal music downloads.

EMI artists include Kate Bush, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams, Coldplay and Radiohead, among others. Mashboxx has already signed a deal with Sony BMG.

David Munns, chairman and CEO of EMI Music North America, said: “When it rolls out, Mashboxx will be a no-obligation way for fans to really immerse themselves in discovering music, turning their friends on to what they like and getting excited about artists and music they've not yet heard. It has the potential to be a very good revenue stream for those who make their living from creating and investing in music.”

EMI’s tracks will be ‘fingerprinted’ by technology developed by Snocap, ironically a company set-up Shawn Fanning, the founder of former 'illegal' download service, Napster.

Consumers will be able to listen to full previews of tracks up to five times  before purchase. After five times, the preview window is reduced to 30 seconds. Once purchased, tracks can be burned to CD seven times, played across five different PCs and transferred to Windows Media portable players as often as you like.

The Mashboxx service is due to go into beta testing soon but no official launch date has been announced.

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