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Japanese cellphone users who want some more intellectual stimulation when they download music will now be able to buy audio books.
Publishing house Kotonoha said Thursday that it will offer book downloads employing the same technology that is used to purchase online music.
The books-on-tape will be cut in sections of up to eight minutes and cost between 105 and 200 yen (90 cents and 1.70 dollars) each, the publisher said.
Kotonoha, which has a catalog for now of 100 titles, hopes to sell each of its works to 1,000 customers per year.
There are already downloadable books but this would be the first known time that a publisher has offered audio books on mobile phones.
Electronic publishing is a growth industry in Japan, with a particularly strong market for manga cartoons sold via mobile telephone.
Leading publisher Kadokawa has tied up in electronic publishing with Japan's top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo and electronics giant Matsushita, which has launched an "electronic book" with a color screen and multimedia functions.
kap/sct/tha
AFPEntertainment-Japan-telecom-publishing
AFP 211129 GMT 12 06
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