10000000000 and counting: 10billionth balance downloaded from Apple iTunes

The 10 billionth song has been downloaded from Apple iTunes, just seven years after the online store shook up the flagging music industry.

The 10 billionth song - Johnny Cash"s "Guess Things Happen That Way" - was downloaded by 71-year-old Louie Sulcer in Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.

Apple has rewarded him with a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

An online counter of the popular music website read: "10 billion songs downloaded from iTunes. And counting" on Wednesday.

Tunes from The Black Eyed Peas came first and third in a list of the top songs on Apple iTunes. The list was released to mark the 10billionth download

ITUNES TOP 20 SONGS

1) I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas2) Poker Face, Lady GaGa3) Boom Boom Pow, Black Eyed Peas4) I"m Yours, Jason Mraz5) Viva la Vida, Coldplay6) Just Dance, Lady GaGa7) Low, Flo Rida8) Love Story, Taylor Swift9) Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis10) Tik Tok, Keisha11) Disturbia, Rihanna12) So What, Pink13) I Kissed a Girl, Katy Perry14) Single Ladies, Beyonce15) Hot N Cold, Katy Perry16) Stronger, Kanye West17) Live Your Life, T.I18) Hey There Delilah, Plain White T"s19) Right Round, Flo Rida20) Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus

The California company behind the iPhone, iPod and Macbook series have promised a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the lucky customer who downloaded the 10-billionth song.

Apple has also provided a list of the all-time top 20 songs on iTunes to mark the occasion.

"I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas, which debuted in May 2009 topped the list, followed by Lady Gaga"s electronic-inspired "Poker Face."

The iTunes Music Store had dominated the music download industry ever since its launch in 2003. This is because of the enormous popularity of Apple music devices such as iPods that automatically synced with the iTunes store.

Many iPod owners still do not realise they can buy cheaper music on websitesother than iTunes, as most providers now don"t use DRM (Digital RightsManagement) to protect their tracks.

For instance Apple"s top download from the Black Eyed Peas is 99p in the UK, but can be bought for 65p from play.com and 50p from 7digital.

iTunes has expanded over theyears and now offers television shows, movies, audio books and podcasts.

Steve Jobs, at the UK launch of Apple"s iTunes back in 2004. It continues to dominate the download market