Microsoft has signed-up a number of software partners for the launch of its applications store later this year, reports Reuters. The US software giant announced this week that web music service Pandora, games publisher Electronic Arts and social network site Facebook would be among the first companies to offer applications via its ‘Windows Marketplace’ store. Microsoft is to showcase the new software at this week’s CTIA Wireless trade show in Las Vegas. Other partners include another games publisher, Gameloft, weather website Accuweather.com, and News Corp’s MySpace social network. Around 20,000 applications are expected to be available from launch. The store was officially unveiled in February this year and is scheduled to launch in the first half of this year on smartphones running Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6.5 platform.

Microsoft’s app store will compete against a raft of rival platforms launched in response to the phenomenal success of  Apple’s App Store, which has registered over  800 million application downloads to date. Google has launched an app store for its Android platform called ‘Android Market,’ Palm will launch one in conjunction with its forthcoming Palm Pre device, and Nokia has one as part of its ‘Ovi’ Internet services initiative. Research In Motion is expected to launch its BlackBerry store at CTIA this week. Microsoft said in an earlier statement that Windows Marketplace would launch in 29 countries and offer third-party developers a 70 percent cut of revenue-share, the same rate offered by Apple and Google.