After months of talk and anticipation, iTunes Match has now been opened for the public. Well, just the US public. But if you are a US Unlocked Visa Card user you can also set up an iTunes Match account from anywhere in the world.

For anyone who is just catching on, iTunes Match 'matches' (actually converts) any of the music you uploaded outside of iTunes to your computer to a real iTunes song if it exists in its library of 20 million songs. iTunes Match also lets you store much more music on the iCloud as it does not count the songs it 'matched' as storage space. For a very thorough guide on iTunes Match we recommend reading TNW's Complete Guide to Apple's iTunes Match.

If you have not yet set up your US iTunes account, please check this tutorial: How to set up an iTunes account with US billing address which is the only way to successfully set up your US iTunes account.

The yearly cost of iTunes Match is $24.99. Happy matching!

Apple iTunes launched a new social music network where you can find out what your friends are listening to and even follow your favorite artists. Wonderful, right? One small detail is that a US billing address is required to be able to join.

In comes the US Unlocked Card. It is our virtual pre-paid debit card with your own US billing address, perfect for purchases on websites that require an American credit card. Find out how the US Unlocked Card works and how to set up iTunes with a US billing address.

Once you have loaded your US Unlocked Card a whole new world of possibilities opens up. Now you can set up a Netflix account, Barnes & Nobles account, buy from BestBuy, Converse, Apple, Ann Taylor and a multitude of other merchants.

Special US Unlocked Card promotion: Load your card and receive a certificate for a $10 discount on your shipment! (valid through December 2010)

Apple has among the strictest rules that are geared to preventing fraud but mostly to protect their US market. Although any nationality can have an iTunes accounts, the US iTunes version is where really everyone wants to download from since it has much more to offer, especially movies and the iBooks for the iPad. If you have tried to set up a US iTunes account you probably gave up pretty fast. It accepts US billing addresses only and only US billing addresses. Here is the solution: the US Unlocked Card. This is a virtual pre-paid Discover**debit card with US billing address. The card costs $15 to create. As soon as you have loaded the card with the desired amount you can start making online payments with it. For iTunes, however, we have found out that the balance on the card has to be at least $51 for the card to be accepted during the account set up. The use of an IP shield is crucial!

Step by step instruction:

1) Sign up with US Unlocked, if you haven't already

2) Apply for the US Unlocked Card by paying $15

3) Make your first card load payment of $51

4) Once the funds have cleared your card is assigned and you can register the card to the iTunes account:

• Use Hotspot Shield to enter the iTunes site (shield should be green, top right of the screen)
• You will need to start fresh and create a new iTunes account with your US billing address

Trouble shooting:

When iTunes says 'please, enter valid security code', it means that they are not accepting the card. Check the following:

• Card has a balance of min. $51?
• You have used a vpn connection/ip shield? For Hotspot Shield: red shield means 'disconnected', click connect.
• You have filled in all the data exactly the way they appear on the US Unlocked Card page?
• Does the email address you are using to set up the account have anything other then '.com' to it that might reveal your non-US location?
• Have you logged out of your existing (local) iTunes account if any? (Also helps to clear browser cache and start over)

If the answer to all these question is Yes and you still cannot register the card:

• Have you tried to make any other payments with the card in the last 48 hours? If so, that store might have put a temporary hold on the funds, causing the available funds to be insufficient/less than the minimum of $51.

If so: please, contact support@nxpay.com and they can help you out.

* card load payments can be made after ID verification status is accepted. To get the accepted ID verification status upload a recent bill or statement showing a matching address and a scan of a government issued ID.

** The US Unlocked Card is now a MasterCard (Discover Card program was terminated in the summer of 2011)