Just last week, Nokia released a new media transfer beta program for Mac computers. Today, it announced a new PlayReady DRM licensing agreement with Microsoft. Looks like Nokia is playing both sides of the fence ahead of its music-themed launch in London later this month.The news set for August 29th is rumored to be a new online music store from Nokia in the vein of Apple's iTunes Music Store. The big bash, to be hosted at London's Ministry of Sound, will show off the new service and probably a new music-centric handset from Nokia. Leading up to that announcement, Nokia seems to be getting all its ducks in a row.

The DRM deal that Nokia struck with Microsoft appears to be a key step in its movement to the rumored music store launch. Starting in 2008, a range of S60 and Series 40 phones from Nokia will support Microsoft's PlayReady content management software. PlayReady should make it easier for Nokia users to transfer content, such as games, ringtones and music, between their PCs and phones. It also gives the content owners more choices with respect to how their content is bought, sold and used by customers.

"People are increasingly using their mobile devices for enjoying digital content, such as music, games, videos and photos," said Ilkka Raiskinen, senior vice president of Multimedia Experiences at Nokia in a prepared statement. "By adding support for Microsoft PlayReady technology, we are enabling service providers to offer a wide range of content and create truly compelling experiences across mobile devices, personal computers and online services."

Just to play it safe, though, Nokia has decided to be friendlier to the Mac Heads out in the world. Nokia Multimedia Transfer Beta 1.1 (which did not get a big splashy press release) allows Mac users to more seamlessly transfer content from their Apple computers to their N series multimedia computers as well as E series enterprise class devices. It works with both iTunes and iPhoto to share music, playlists, photos, and games. Nokia quietly made the beta available last week.