Microsoft, Amazon Team for e-Books

Monday, August 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SEATTLE (AP) â€” Microsoft Corp., in an effort to expand the reach of its Reader software for electronic books, has teamed up with online retailer Amazon.com to create an online e-bookstore.

In an alliance announced at a publishing conference in San Francisco, Microsoft will create a customized version of its Reader software for Amazon.com, which will allow customers to buy and download entire books from the retailer's Web site.

The Reader software, available for free on Microsoft's Web site, makes it easier to read text on a computer by ``splitting'' the individual pixels that make up the screen, making individual letters less blocky and easier on the eyes.

The two companies did not announce whether the alliance included any financial terms. Amazon.com did not comment on when its new e-bookstore would be opened.

Microsoft Corp. and bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. have a similar arrangement.

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On the Net:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.bn.com

http://www.microsoft.com/reader/