iPod sharing between mac and windows ?

can anyone answer the question can you SHARE and iPod between a mac machine and a windows machine.

example my iPod formatted for mac gets an error message when connected to a Windows machine. "Your iPod needs to be reformatted for use with Windows. Would you like to run iTunes to restore your iPod now.".

so the question i wonder is this.

we know macs deal better with windows, than windows does with macs.

so is it possible to re-format the ipod for Windows use. then will it recognise the iPod on both the mac and the PC ?

why would you do it ?

well i was at work browsing the iTunes store and wanted to do some downloads but found my mac formatted iPod would not play nicely with my Windows XP laptop.

Anyone have any tips or answers to the above ?