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Sony is to announce that by the end of the year it will sell e-books from its online store only in the ePub format, which is supported by the Reader, Plastic Logic and other e-book readers.
Sony will also scrap its anticopying software in favour of Adobe technology which restricts how often e-books can be shared or copied, reports the New York Times.
Sony's president of the digital reading unit, Steve Haber, said: "There is going to be a proliferation of different reading devices, with different features and capabilities and prices for a different set of consumer requirements."
He added: "If people are going to this e-book shopping mall, they are going to want to shop at all the stores, and not just be required to shop at one store."
For Sony the move is part of a strategy to make up lost ground after the launch of the Kindle; this year it introduced two, less expensive devices, and a new $9.99 e-book price, with a third Reader to be launched later this year, which like the Kindle, will allow wireless e-book purchases.