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SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) - Amazon.com said on Thursday that it will soon allow customers to buy pages or sections of books rather than the entire book.
Amazon will also give its customers a digitized version of a printed book that's purchased in a bid to extend the consumer-choice trend on the Internet.
The new programs build on The Seattle-based retailer's Search Inside the Book technology, which allows customers to search the texts of books.
The announcement also comes on the same day Google said it's opening its virtual library, called Google Print, which for now consists of books that are in the public domain.
By making pages of books available for sale, Amazon is extending the trend already happening online, which is to offer un-bundled products. Already, online newspapers sell individual articles much as online music stores sell individual songs.
Amazon said its Amazon Pages program will "un-bundle" the real-world experience of buying a book by allowing customers to buy just the pages they need. "For example, an entrepreneur interested in marketing his or her business could purchase the relevant chapters from several best-selling business books," according to a release.
Amazon.com did not announce when the programs would be available nor did Amazon say how it will price the pages. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see
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