Digital Memory Devices containing singles and albums will count towards chart position from next week

Sales of music on USB sticks will be included in the official UK charts for the first time from 29 October, according to industry reports.

An email sent by the Official UK Charts Company said it will include sales of two types of memory sticks, 'Standard' Digital Memory Devices (DMD) and 'Deluxe' DMDs.

Standard DMDs will only have a capacity of 512Mb, while Deluxe DMDs can reach up to 5Gb.

Standard DMDs are expected to include albums or singles with some added multimedia content.

Meanwhile Deluxe DMDs will be able to hold more songs, video, multimedia and other 'added value' content.

Retail prices are expected to be around £5 for the Standard DMDs, with Deluxe DMDs costing £10.