Microsoft has quickly shot down rumors that it plans to embed content filtering in its Zune gadgets. Several Internet news publications, including The New York Times, have said that Microsoft is going to implement a so-called "copyright cop" technology into its Zunes which would prevent playback of unauthorized copies of video files on them.

They deduced this from NBC's statements a while back, when they cut off ties with iTunes. NBC was complaining at the time that Apple wanted all TV shows to have an identical wholesale price so that it can sell all of them at $1.99, while the media company wanted more flexible pricing. Secondly, and this is the apparent rumor-maker, NBC wanted filters to remove pirated movies and videos.

However, the Zune Insider blog, ran by Cesar Menendez, a Microsoft employee working on Zune, has shot down the rumors immediately:

We know you guys are following this discussion closely, and wanted to be absolutely clear on this issue: We have no plans or commitments to implement any new type of content filtering in the Zune devices.

Microsoft introduced on Monday new software features to the Zune online store, expanding its content with video titles from COMEDY CENTRAL, FUNimation Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media, Turner Broadcasting, UFC, VH1 and others. Until now, only music videos were available on Zune Marketplace.

Customers will be charged 160 Microsoft Points (the equivalent of $1.99) for each episode at launch. NBC said the deal with Microsoft is actually what they’ve been looking for, considering Microsoft’s flexibility on pricing issues.

Microsoft also released a software update for Zune which brings about several improvements, especially in the area of wireless connectivity. Also, Zune’s users will be able to download their friends nine most recently played songs and also the first nine songs tagged as favorites. The direction chosen by Microsoft is based on today’s trend for strong social relationships, which can also be strengthened through such a music exchange.