Amazon.com Inc said on October 22 that digital books ordered for use on its Kindle electronic reader can now be read on personal computers. Amazon will provide a software application - available next month as a free download - that can convert Kindle books to PC-readable ones.
The move follows the launch this week of a competing device, the Nook, from bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc that sports a similar function. Books ordered through Amazon's online store can be read on the Kindle, as well as on Apple Inc's iPhone and iPod Touch.
The company added that owning a Kindle was not required to access Amazon's digital bookstore, which includes more than 350,000 books.