Amazon buys BookSurge

Last week we reported that online retailer Amazon.com was considering a move into electronic publishing. Now it has bought BookSurge, reports The New York Times, one of America's biggest print-on-demand companies.

Amazon.com declined to share specific details about the acquisition - its second in five years. "We feel we can do great things together. We're just not saying what that might be," said Patty Smith, a company spokeswoman. Nonetheless, Amazon appears a good match for BookSurge's would-be authors, because it attracts perhaps more literary types than any other electronic commerce site.