Ananova:

Amazon.com has set up a dedicated store for electronic book downloads.

The e-book store will offer around 1,000 titles at launch - a tiny fraction of its overall catalogue - but is expected to grow rapidly over the coming months.

The site - which offers files for use with a free, customised version of Microsoft's Reader software - includes 30 free titles and several exclusives, including two new Star Trek novels.

"We are just scratching the surface today with the technology and the content, and the potential for both is amazing," said Lyn Blake, Amazon.com Books general manager.

Amazon's primary rival in book sales, Barnes and Noble, earlier established its own e-book store, and features titles in Rocket e-book and Glassbook formats in addition to Microsoft Reader.