NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - iTunes users subscribed to more than one million Podcasts in the two days after Apple introduced new iTunes software with built-in Podcast technology, the company said.

"With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears," said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network, in a statement released Thursday by Apple (down $0.18 to $36.63, Research).

"Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting," said Curry.

Podcasts, which are sound files that contain content such as radio shows, will work on any digital music player and they have become increasingly popular since late 2004. A Podcast also allows users to create and upload their own audio programs on the Web, which can be downloaded to multimedia players at a later date.

With the new iTunes 4.9, users can load Podcasts directly onto their iPods, and new Podcast episodes are automatically downloaded.

New iPods also now offer a Podcast menu that includes bookmarking within a Podcast and the ability to display color Podcast artwork.

"Podcasting is like cappuccino," said August Trometer, developer of iPodderX. "Gourmet coffee was around for a long time, but it took Starbucks to put it on the map. Apple is like the Starbucks of Podcasting and advertisers will take us more seriously now."

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