Apple has warned iPod owners that they risk corrupting their music player if they connect it to a computer with Windows Vista, and has told them to hold off upgrading to Microsoft’s new operating system until the compatibility issues are resolved.

Apple said that iTunes may work with some Vista computers, but that the problem would not be fully resolved until it issued an updated version of iTunes in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime users should not upgrade their computer to the new system, the company said.

According to a note on Apple’s website, the compatibility problems include the inability to play music or video purchased from the online iTunes music store, difficulties synchronising contacts and calendars, as well as possible corruption when an iPod is disconnected from a computer running Vista.

The most recent version of iTunes - 7.0.2 - “may work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs”, Apple said, but “a number of iTunes compatibility issues” were being addressed in the next release of the software.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said that it did not believe iTunes users “should stop using Vista for these reasons”, and that it had worked with a range of partners, including Apple, to make sure their software was compatible with Vista.

The company had a dedicated team working with Apple to ensure that iTunes ran smoothly on Vista, the spokesperson said, adding that they would keep at it “until they have a program running to the quality level they’re shooting for.”

Any teething problems with Vista will serve only to fuel the rivalry between the companies, which co-operate to make their products compatible despite competing fiercely in both the computer and music player markets.

Following the release of the consumer version of Vista last week, Apple immediately ramped up its advertising campaign against Microsoft, using the characters from a popular television show to suggest that PC users were ‘geeks’ while Mac users were ‘cool’.

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