High-fidelity music download service MusicGiants garnered some top-notch real estate today.

The Lake Tahoe-area company's service, which sells downloads in the Windows Media "lossless" compression format, is now available through Windows Media Player 10, hoping to delve into the player's massive user base.

Nearly half of MusicGiants' catalog of 425,000 songs will be available in the Windows Media Player today, growing to around half a million tracks within a few weeks, the companies said. The music does contain Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) technology, meaning that it can't be played on iPods.

To access MusicGiants' HD Music Store within the player, users click on the down arrow in the upper right corner of the application window and select the store.

Users will only be able to download full albums at launch, but individual tracks will be available for $1.29 each within a couple of weeks, the companies said.

"MusicGiants is delivering the music as it was intended to be--no compression and no compromises--just a perfect copy of the original in glorious high-definition," said Dave Fester general manager, Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp., in a statement. "MusicGiants' new hi-def music store now available in Windows Media Player 10 is the first and only store offering this quality of music to fans."

The move is major news for a company that has so far targeted the audiophile set by partnering with resellers of high-end audio equipment, paying them to market MusicGiants as they install high-end stereo equipment in a customer's home.

Now, MusicGiants is potentially in front of Windows Media Player's massive, 300 million-strong user base.

"We are excited to make HD music purchases available to the more than 300 hundred million users of Windows Media Player 10," MusicGiants CEO Scott Bahneman said in a statement. "Our music is the best way to get the most out of your home audio investment."