The Danish culture minister says she wants to ease the country’s law regarding personal use but that Napster-like software will not be permitted.

The Danish government is preparing a law that will legalize the downloading of music from the Internet, a government spokesman confirmed Friday, angering copyright holders. Elsebeth Nielsen, the Danish minister for culture, wants to relax the country's private copying law. Danes currently aren't allowed to make any copies of digital media such as CDs. The proposed rules, however, will give Danes more rights then many other Europeans. As an example, Jorgensen said Danes would be allowed to make a copy of a CD for use in their cars, a form of offline copying allowed in many countries. The proposed law also will make it legal for Danes to copy music from the Internet to their PC, Jorgensen said. Downloading of copyright material without the consent of the rights holder is illegal in most European countries, as is the sharing of copyright material. Offering songs online to others, which can for example be done by using Napster software, still won't be legal in Denmark, Jorgensen said. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the worldwide recording industry, said it would be "shocked" if Denmark is in fact allowing digital downloads of copyright files.