Hey, speaking of that Pepsi-iTunes giveaway, we assume you've been training hard to bolster your body's sugar tolerance, right? After all, you can't just leap headlong into a massive three-month guzzlefest and expect to collect the maximum number of free songs without preparing for the race; statistically speaking, you're going to have to down about six hundred 20-ounce bottles of select Pepsi products before April 30th in order to score all 200 free tunes. Without the proper conditioning, that much sugar will turn your blood into sludge and all your free songs will pass on to your next of kin. (Those of you who hope to avoid the sugar challenge altogether by sticking to Diet Pepsi will instead have to contend with the fact that ingestion of that much aspartame will likely turn your brainstem into an inert black viscous substance. Then again, the aftertaste will probably kill you first.)

Well, we have good news and bad news: the bad news is that you now have less time in which to condition your pancreas to handle the sugar overload. The good news, though, is that you have more time in which to amass your winning bottle cap collection. While the promotion officially starts on February 1st, faithful viewer jakester sent us clicking over to macboyx.com, where the site's proprietor has posted photographic evidence of a winning "ONE FREE SONG" bottle cap from a bottle of Diet Pepsi. We see no evidence of fakery, so we have to conclude that, in at least some areas, the iTMS bottles went out to stores a week and a half early. Time to get quaffing, folks-- the game is afoot!

One caveat, however: according to a thread in the MacRumors Forums (where MacBoyX originally posted his news about winning a song), while you might find Pepsis with claim codes in them, there's no way to redeem them yet, so you'll still have to wait for Super Bowl Sunday before you can actually download your free songs. Other noteworthy points from the same thread: iTunes bottles have been confirmed in Lincoln, Nebraska and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; and one reader reports having collected five winning caps because people don't yet know about the promotion (or don't care) and are just throwing them away. So if you're willing to root through a few trash receptacles, you might actually be able to score your 200 songs without totally screwing with your insulin levels. Technically it's cheating-- the codes are void if "illegitimately obtained (i.e., through means other than mail-in request pursuant to Rule 2 or retail purchase)"-- but somehow we doubt that Apple or Pepsi is going to go to great lengths to bust you on that point.

So giddyup, kiddies; it's time to hit the corner store and check the Pepsi bottles for the Apple logo, because you don't want to miss taking advantage of this nine-day head start. But if you find iTMS bottles in your area and you start drinking in earnest, keep this helpful health tip in mind: if your urine comes out carbonated, it's time to slow down a smidge. Enjoy!