It’s been claimed that Google will roll out a music download service tied to its search engine later this year, followed by an online cloud-based subscription service in 2011.

People using Google.com to look for a particular group or song will be served a link to the company's music store.

Un-named Google sources were pinned down for comment by the Wall Street Journal, though despite being guaranteed anonymity, they weren’t exactly forthcoming with that many juicy details. As the report on the matter says:

“It’s unclear whether (Google) has struck any deals with record labels so far. But Google has been stepping up conversations about offering new music services tied to phones running its Android operating system along with the broader Web, said people who have been briefed on the talks. The launch of Google’s download music store is still months away, these people said.”

The first phase of Google’s music service is expected to be a web store where users can buy and download tracks, music industry insiders told the WSJ. It will be tied directly to Google’s search engine, so that people using Google.com to look for a particular group or song will be served a link to the company’s music store.

The Google sources say that the download store would be an “interim” step toward what is expected to be a more ambitious cloud-based subscription service compatible with mobile phones built with Google’s Android software.

A cloud-based service would enable subscribers to stream music directly from the Internet to their mobile phones, so that users wouldn’t need to store music files on their devices.

All sounds good to us anyway, a major rival for iTunes would do them no harm and if any company can put pressure on Apple’s market domination in this space, it’s Google. For the pure entertainment value alone, let battle commence.