Music downloading on U.S. cellphones is all the buzz among mobile phone watchers at the Consumers Electronics Show.

Verizon Wireless, the No. 2. U.S. mobile phone operator looks set to introduce a music downloading service for phones, according to industry sources.

Harris Nesbitt analyst John Bucher expects Verizon Wireless to reveal a wireless music download service at its press conference scheduled for Thursday morning.

Executives at Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics also hinted at a press conference on Wednesday that the Verizon Wireless announcement would relate to music services.

Jon Maron, LG’s marketing director for mobile phones, said Verizon Wireless would talk more about LG’s VX8100 phone, which includes a digital music player, at the Thursday event.

Since last February, Verizon Wireless has sold about 1 million of these phones, which also run its streaming video service, according to Maron. Verizon has said it would launch a music service this year.

But the company declined to comment on any immediate plans. Harris Nesbitt’s Bucher believes a music service may do better than its video service.

“This service will probably get more traction,” said Bucher, who hopes the company will also provide more details about how it would offer a live TV service being developed by Qualcomm Inc.

Motorola Inc. is also scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday evening. Bucher believes the company is going to explain more about how its goal of “seamless mobility”, or the interconnecting of communications and entertainment services across multiple devices, will work.

Motorola already announced details of a iRadio music subscription service it developed to work on computers, cellphones and car and home stereos.