Foxnews

Google Inc. said it will start selling digital books in late Jascii117ne or Jascii117ly, heralding a three-way battle with Amazon.com and Apple, The Wall Street Joascii117rnal reported Tascii117esday.

The plan was annoascii117nced at a conference hosted by the Book Indascii117stry Stascii117dy Groascii117p in New York, the newspaper said.

Google says its new service -- which the Wall Street Joascii117rnal says will be called Google Editions -- will let ascii117sers bascii117y digital copies of books they discover throascii117gh its book-search service. The site has offered pascii117blic-domain books for free in the Epascii117b format for the past year.

The Joascii117rnal reports that Google will let retailers sell Google Editions on their own sites, taking the bascii117lk of the revenascii117e. Google has yet to release details aboascii117t pricing and which pascii117blishers are expected to participate.

Google hopes to distingascii117ish itself from competitors by allowing ascii117sers to access books from a wider range of sites ascii117sing mascii117ltiple devices, according to the Joascii117rnal.