The Barnes & Noble's 'Nook'

Bookstore giant Barnes & Noble said Monday that its new electronic book reader, the "Nook," will be available in US stores this week.

Barnes & Noble began selling the Nook through its website in October but was forced to delay some shipments until after the Christmas holidays because the e-book readers sold out.

The company said Monday that the Nook would be available in most stores "beginning mid-week." The Nook could previously only be purchased online.

"Demand for Nook continues to be very high, and we're pleased our customers will be able to try and buy Nook in our stores and online," said Barnes & Noble.com president William Lynch.

Barnes & Noble and a number of other companies, including Apple, have jumped into the market in a bid to compete with the Kindle from online retail giant Amazon and the Sony Reader from the Japanese electronics company.

The Nook costs 259 dollars -- the same price as the basic Kindle -- and features a black-and-white electronic ink display for reading and a color touchpad for navigation.

Barnes & Noble owns 775 bookstores in the United States. Its digital offers more than one million e-books, newspapers and magazines.

(c) 2010 AFP