AppleInsider reports that iTunes 8.1 should be available this week. The speedier version of Apple’s popular media software will include an upgraded Genius feature and will support direct CD imports to the iTunes Plus format.

The Genius recommendation engine will be extended to movies and television shows, offering suggestions in the right-hand side of the screen for similar content from the iTunes Store, while the new CD import feature will let users rip music as 256-Kbps iTunes Plus files.

Apple says the new version of iTunes will also respond faster than previous versions. So far, the Apple downloads page still says that 8.1 is coming soon.