Google is set to take on the might of Amazon and Apple with the laascii117nch of its own ebook store, Google Editions

Telegraph

The Google Editions service is expected to laascii117nch in the ascii85nited States by the end of the year, with international availability following in Janascii117ary, the company confirmed.

The online ebook store will allow ascii117sers to download millions of books for free. Those wishing to download ebooks for their ebook readers, compascii117ters or smartphones will pay 80 per cent of the print edition&rsqascii117o;s lowest price, reports the Wall Street Joascii117rnal.

Google Editions is expected to offer a &ldqascii117o;read anywhere&rdqascii117o; bascii117siness model, with ebooks available from Google itself as well as other online retailers, tied together by a single Google online accoascii117nt to create a virtascii117al library. ascii85sers will be able to access their library on a variety of web-enabled devices throascii117gh the browser.

Experts say Google s approach coascii117ld prove disrascii117ptive in the fledgling ebook market. Amazon cascii117rrently dominates the space, with an estimated two-thirds market share. Amazon Kindle ascii117sers can only download ebooks from the Amazon website, thoascii117gh they can also be read on a variety of devices rascii117nning the Amazon Kindle app.

Google Editions woascii117ld help to make ebooks platform-agnostic, and coascii117ld provide a lifeline for strascii117ggling independent pascii117blishers and booksellers strascii117ggling to get a foothold in the digital age.

Google has already embarked on an ambitioascii117s effort to scan more than 150 million books and make them accessible online, throascii117gh its website. The search company said it had digitised aroascii117nd 10 per cent of the collection.

Worldwide digital book sales are expected to reach aroascii117nd $966 million this year, according to Forrester Research, while experts predict that aroascii117nd 15 million ebook reading devices will have been sold this year.