Getting music free online, without lawsuit risk

Download &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/361/16515_Stanev.html' target=_blank>music from file-swapping networks these days and you risk getting slapped with a copyright lawsuit.

But what if you could simply listen to the songs stored on other music lovers' computers without actually downloading them?

That's exactly what a service called Mercora IMRadio lets you do _ and for free. It comes close to recreating the experience of the original Napster and similar file-swapping programs, all the while keeping you out of the music industry's doghouse.

Part Web radio, part online community, Mercora lets participants be DJs, queuing up playlists of their own crafting. Listeners can tap into a single DJ's mix or jump around.