iTunes users experience downloading issues

Many iTunes users are reporting a growing problem involving purchases from the iTunes Store. According to messages from iLounge readers and user reports on Apple’s support website, customers are purchasing, and paying for, songs that refuse to download. When users try to select “Check for Purchases”, they receive an error message stating “Unable to check for purchases. iTunes Store unavailable. Please try again later.” At least three separate threads on Apple’s Discussion Boards document the issues. The problem appears to be widespread, with similar issues being reported by users of the iTunes Store in Canada, the UK, Germany, Austria, and Finland, as well as the US. Apple has yet to make any official statement regarding the issue. [Thanks, Rafael]