Bookworms could soon be able to carry around an entire library in their back pocket.

What the iPod pioneered in music, the e-book could now follow in literature - as long as you have a spare £300.

Technology giants including Philips are developing an electronic book which could store text downloaded from thousands of books.

The e-book, expected to sell for between £250 and £300, could be available in UK shops early next year.

Supporters predict they could prove invaluable to students and professionals by clearing the clutter of crowded bookshelves.

But lovers of the printed word say the gadgets will never compare with the pleasure of a real book.

Past attempts to market electronic books have floundered because people have found portable screens awkward to read.

However, Philips and co-creators E Ink Corporation claim their latest model can be read easily at any angle and in any light.

The gadget has two 4in by 6in facing screens, to resemble the experience of a book's facing pages.

It uses "electronic ink" on screens six times brighter than traditional displays and pages can be turned at the push of a button.

The e-book would be able to store tens of thousands of books, just as Apple's iPod can hold as many songs.

Dick Brass, Microsoft's vice-president of technology and development, has predicted that 90 per cent of all reading will be delivered in electronic form by 2020.

More than 3,000 titles, including War And Peace, the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, are already available at www.gutenberg.net

We can only guess what Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press in the mid-1400s, would make of this latest chapter in literary history.

Wednesday February 11, 2004