• by February 27, 2006

So 16-year-old Alex Ostrovsky got lucky the other day. Nope, not that way, but maybe he thinks this is even better: the Michigan kid's download of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" from Apple's iTunes Music Store represented the Store's one billionth download. Ostrovsky, of West Bloomfield Township, Mich., scored a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth-generation iPods, and a $10,000 iTunes gift card from Apple.

Not bad.

Apple was in such a celebratory mood that it also said it would create a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Ostrovsky's name.

"Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a statement.

Apple launched the iTunes Music store three years ago. Apple now offers music videos and video downloads of popular TV shows like "Desperate Housewives."