Apple's iTunes Store arrives in a dozen new Asian countries

Apple's extended its iTunes Store to 12 new countries today as part of a push that takes it into more Asian territories.

Included on that list is: Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

In a release, Apple says those countries get "music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels" to the tune of 20 million tracks, as well as movies, TV shows, and apps from the App Store.

News of the expansion came first in a report by Asia technology blog e27 last week (h/t Macrumors).

Apple launched the iTunes Store with 200,000 music tracks, alongside a new version of the iPod in 2003. The store has since expanded to include video content and audio books, as well as off-shoots like the iBookstore, and App Store, which use the same architecture.

The move is Apple's second music-related effort of the day. Earlier today, the company quietly released a standalone app that breaks out the podcast listening and downloading feature from the iOS version of iTunes into its own app.