Retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has launched an online store—“Wal-Mart Mobile”—and a WAP portal to sell mobile content through a partnership with mobile media firm Playphone, reports Mobile Entertainment. The mostly ringtones and wallpaper that stock the store are part of a bigger Wal-Mart strategy to promote music sales in its brick-and-mortar stores and its online properties. This month, for example, Wal-Mart has a special on The Eagles, selling their “Long Road Out of Eden” album in CD version in stores and online, and a digital version on the Web. It is also offering exclusive $1.99 ringtones at its Wal-Mart Mobile store and WAP portal to complement the in-store promotions. Meanwhile, it has already begun aggressively promoting the new online site and its 40888 shortcode in its 4,121 US brick-and-mortar stores through points of sale.

Wal-Mart said their foray into mobile content could get bigger. A spokesperson for the store said it was working with PlayPhone over the next several months “to understand customer response to the service and create new opportunities for fans to enjoy their favorite music and artists.”

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