In a move that substantiates speculations about Apple’s plans to launch a new Web-based version of its iTunes music store, the company Friday announced that it was shutting down its December-acquired Lala. com online music service by May-end.

Though Apple spokesman Jason Roth refrained from commenting on whether the 5-year-old site - which essentially enables users to stream any track from its 8 million-song Internet-based catalogue once for free - will be revived under Apple’s iTunes brand, Lala specified that such integration was likely, as it would compensate the Lala listeners.

Lala, which also sold unlimited streams for 10 cents per track and allowed users to buy MP3 downloads starting at 79 cents, said in a message on its home page that the service will stop accepting new users and will shut down May 31. It further added that users who have paid to stream music will be given iTunes credits as a compensation.

Industry watchers speculated that Apple’s possible incorporation of Lala’s “cloud” technology as a Web subscription service for Apple’s popular iTunes store will enable iPhone users to listen to music stored on iTunes servers through cellphone networks. Apple use Lala’s cloud approach will allow users to have online access to an iTunes-purchased song, in something like a pay-once-play-anywhere concept.