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Oxford & Cambridge Unis: On your ipod!

The march of technology never ceases to amaze.

With iTunes having already garnered a number of universities and lectures and talks provided by them available to be downloaded to an ipod or mp3 player, now Oxford and Cambridge universities - traditional rivals over many centuries - now join the iTune's "campus".

The Guardian reports:

"For 800 years Oxford and Cambridge universities have competed in everything from Nobel prizes to boat races. The academic rivalry runs deep: Oxford has tutored 25 British prime ministers, while Cambridge claims Darwin and Newton as its own. But today the venerable institutions launch into battle on iTunes, taking their ancient competition into the 21st century.

The universities are simultaneously publishing about 450 hours of free audio and video podcasts of lectures, films and admissions guides for people to download to a computer or MP3 player. They will be available from iTunesu, the download provider's university portal, where American institutions have been broadcasting their academic wares for some years. Both universities will provide podcasts advising students on applications, how to choose a college, and how to prepare for an interview.

They deny today's simultaneous launch is designed to start an iTunes race, instead claiming it is a sign they are opening up to a wider audience. Both were happy to provide a rollcall of the great and the good who will be available for all under their respective university brands. It will inevitably invite accusations of a new battleground for the famous foes."

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