I'm in Minnesota USA and I use the great and amazing ZUNE desktop media playing software most everyday.
I have always been able to login to my ZUNE (now Xbox) account, but for me, Microsoft removed social long ago too. My "Marketplace" screen only shows "picks", "music", and "podcasts".
Incidentally, I listen to many many podcasts, all auto downloaded and tracked. ZUNE also syncs with my ZUNE (Xbox) account and shows all the HD TV and movies I've purchased on my Xbox 360 too. I have watched a few again on my SurfacePro2 using the ZUNE software.
Most people don't know about this great software and that it is still available as a free download. It was written so well, that it is still amazing even after Microsoft removed a few features like social. It is beautiful.
I hope your discovery means features may return.