UK digital music player retailer Advanced MP3 Players has brought to Britain what could be the first device to mount a serious challenge to Apple's iPod Nano for size and slimness. The Mcody M20 weighs a mere 31g and is just 7.5mm thick - and looks like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Alas, that's a whole half a millimetre thicker than the Nano, but who's counting when the M20 squeezes in an FM radio, voice and line-in recording, SRS WoW and TruBass sound enhancement and, for the Linux boys, Ogg audio support.

The M20 also plays MP3, WMA and WAV files. There's no video or photo support: the M20's 128 x 64 white-on-black OLED screen's not really up to that. The player is available in 1GB and 2GB versions.

Advanced quotes two battery life figures: 11 hours and 12 hours, both just under the Nano's 14-hour music playback duration, but neither a deal breaker, we'd say. In any case, it's cheaper: £69 for the 1GB version and £89 for the 2GB model - Apple charges £99 and £129 for the equivalent-capacity Nanos.

The M20 is availble now from Advanced MP3 Players' website ®