HarperCollins launches V-Books

4 February 2009 13:56 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

HarperCollins is introducing an entirely new digital book format in the States - the V-Book.

As the V prefix might suggest, the idea sees books turned into watchable video clips for viewing on a PC, or portable media player.

The first author to go live with a V-Book is Jeff Jarvis, with "What Would Google Do?", that will be available as a paperback, e-book, audio and now - V-Book.

The title is a little misleading in this case as it seems that rather than an abridged version of the book, it's actually Jarvis paraphrasing the book's concepts and contents.

The video is 23 minutes long, has the author speaking direct to camera on a white background and will cost $9.99 on sale from Amazon.

HarperCollins plans to produce around six such V-Book titles this year, with no word on a UK launch.