barnesandnoble.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. announced January 6, 2000 that they will create a barnesandnoble.com eBook superstore using Microsoft® Reader software. The eBook initiative, announced at the 2000 International CES, will provide access to thousands of eBook titles through Microsoft Reader, a new software application designed to deliver an on-screen computer reading experience rivaling that offered by traditional paper-based text.

barnesandnoble.com and Barnes and Noble Inc. have signed agreements with Microsoft to develop and market the Microsoft Reader eBook store. barnesandnoble.com will create the eBook store on its Web site by mid-2000, offering titles that will run on Microsoft Reader software. Barnes & Noble will aggressively market the new eBook store through a variety of promotional activities in its more than 1,000 retail bookstores nationwide.

"The combination of barnesandnoble.com's online strength and Barnes and Noble's dominant retail presence will make Microsoft Reader available to tens of millions of book consumers in a matter of months," said Dick Brass, vice president of technology development for Microsoft. "Barnes and Noble invented modern book retailing. We can't think of any other distribution channel that has such combined power and brand awareness."

Microsoft Reader is expected to ship in the first half of 2000.

Posted January-7-2000