Google plans to open a digital bookstore by the end of the
year to challenge Amazon's dominance of the online book sales
market.
The move is unrelated to Google's
controversial agreement with authors and publishers to make
digital copies of millions of books available online.
The agreement, still under investigation by US authorities, has
been criticised for giving Google a monopoly to sell out-of-print
books.
Google has defended its position by highlighting the benefits to
readers of putting millions of books online.
News of Google's plans to open an online store for books that
are still in print, however, has been welcomed by publishers,
according to Silicon Valley's
Mercury News.
The move will create the first real competition to Amazon, which
unsettled published in 2007 when it unilaterally lowered prices for
its best seller category.
Publishers are concerned that in the absence of competition,
Amazon will use its dominant position to take control of setting
book prices online.
Google has told publishers they will be able to set any
reasonable pricing for books that will be available for purchase
from any web-enabled device.