The release of Microsoft Zune portable digital media player in Europe will be delayed until late 2007, as there are reportedly no launch partners. This will give Apple’s iPod another year to enjoy success on the European market and consequently make it harder for Microsoft to grab a significant market share.

New Media Age, a UK-based weekly magazine covering the business of interactive media: the Internet, wireless internet and interactive TV, reported that Microsoft would only be in position to launch “until at least the end of 2007” in the UK and Europe, meaning that Microsoft will miss the lucrative holiday season in Europe this year.

“They will be working on rolling out the Zune in the UK and Europe with its compatible Zune Market place,” said Dene Schonknecht, media and entertainment alliance manager at Microsoft. “We haven’t yet selected a music store provider to build marketplace in the UK, which means we’re way off launch.”

Microsoft’s Zune player will be available in three colours with a duotone approach on each. The device will have a 3” screen, contain a 30GB hard disk drive as well as some functionality, not currently available on competing products, such as Apple iPod or Creative Zen, including ad-hoc music sharing between a group of people in the range of the device, FM as well as digital radio, thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity.

Along with the Zune device, Microsoft is expected to launch its new online music store called Zune Marketplace. Zune will be available in the USA starting November 14 for $249.