Nokia Corp. began offering an unrestricted free music-downloading service in China on Thursday, in the latest move by the company to attract users in the face of increasing competition in the smartphone market, reported Reuters.

The Finnish handset maker will offer eight handsets under its Comes with Music program in China. Users who purchase one of the handsets will get a free 12-month subscription to Nokia's music service, which provides free downloads of mp3 files without digital-rights management technology. That means the files can be used and shared without restrictions.

The program has been launched in 30 markets, including Russia, Indonesia and Brazil, and will also launch in India, but China will be the only market where the music files aren't limited to use on one personal computer and one Nokia handset.

Prices of devices equipped with Nokia's Comes with Music start at 140 euros ($187), but Chris Leong, Nokia's senior vice president of Greater China, Korea and Japan, said the company may consider releasing cheaper handsets under the program.

When user subscriptions for free music expire, the company said it will offer options to continue the service, which may include a requirement to buy a new handset, said Liz Schimel, Nokia's global head of music.

Comes with Music features music from the world's four biggest record labels: Warner Music Group Corp., Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony Corp.'s Sony Music, and EMI Group Ltd. The labels have been increasingly willing to experiment with new revenue models as sales of compact discs shrink.