Apple has recently announced that more than three billion songs have been purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Stores.

Apple claims that iTunes is the world’s most popular online music store featuring a catalogue of over four million songs, 7,000 music videos, 100,000 podcasts, and 20,000 audiobooks after surpassing Amazon and Target to become the third largest music retailer in the US.

The company also said that with features like Cover Flow, integrated podcasting support, playlist sharing, integration with iPod, and the ability to turn downloaded songs into complete albums, the iTunes Store is the best way for PC and Mac users to legally discover, purchase and download music and music video online.

Apple’s Vice President of iTunes, Eddy Cue said, “We’d like to thank all of our customers who have contributed to this incredible milestone.”

The announcement follows a recent GFK poll finding that not all consumers are downloading legally from stores such as iTunes or Amazon. The survey revealed that over 40% of Australians surveyed admitted to the illegal downloading of content. Moreover, almost one in five people polled in the fourth annual Digital Music Survey said they would continue to download unauthorised music, up from less than one in ten last year. (See separate story)