Hewlett-Packard plans to launch an HP-branded online music store in the first quarter, most likely at a January trade show, an HP executive said yesterday. The music service will be run in conjunction with an existing service like Musicmatch.com and compete with music stores from Apple Computer and Dell, HPShopping.com chief executive officer Peter Appl said in an interview.

Following the planned launch of the service at the Consumer Electronics Show, HP expects to unveil a digital music player, Appl said. He said the company had not yet decided the exact design of the product, adding that HP wants to be sure to set its digital music player apart from competitors.

HP, which is the second largest personal computer maker, behind Dell, is one of several computers makers including Dell and Gateway that aim to sell more consumer electronics products as sales of PCs have matured.

HP also plans to introduce a large screen, LCD flat panel television at the consumer electronics show, Appl said.