Google to launch e-bookstore venture in Jan-Mar 2011: Report

NEW YORK: Internet search giant Google is set to launch its much awaited e-book retailing venture--Google Editions--globally in the first quarter of 2011, says a media report.

"It ( Google Editions) is set to debut in the US by the end of the year and internationally in the first quarter of next year," the Wall Street Journal quoted Google Product Management Director Scott Dougall as saying.

The company is working with independent booksellers and several publishers to sell e-books, the report noted.

According to the publication, users will be able to buy books directly from Google or from multiple online retailers, including independent bookstores, and add them to an online library tied to a Google account.

They will be able to access their Google accounts on most devices with a Web browser, including personal computers, smartphones and tablets, the report added.

Google's entry in the digital book market will pose a threat to Amazon and Apple Inc's dominance in e-books' segment.

Digital book sales are expected to more than treble to USD 966 million this year from USD 301 million in 2009, the report said, citing Forrester Research.