Chinese?online retailer 360buy.com is planning to launch an e-book service to capitalize on the emerging e-book market in the world's most populous country.

Shi Tao, vice president of 360buy.com, yesterday said the service will offer more than 80,000 e-books upon being launched, with a goal of offering 300,000 e-books by the end of this year.

He said the service is currently being offered on a trial basis and will be officially launched in the near future.

As the first online retailer in China to exceed 10 billion yuan (US$1.58 billion) in annual sales, 360buy.com will use its massive customer base as an advantage when tapping the e-book market, Shi said.

"Our customers are used to e-commerce, and many registered book buyers purchase books and videos at least twice a month," Shi said.

China's e-book industry has been plagued by poor performance and a lack of transparency in settling digital copyright issues.

Shi said 360buy.com will solve this problem by acting as an industry agent and sharing profits with publishing houses. The company has signed cooperative agreements with more than 200 publishers.