BEST-selling author Stephen King set the trend - and now Frederick Forsyth is to publish a collection of five new stories exclusively on the internet in the form of an e-book.

While most of us enjoy the thought of curling up with a well-thumbed book with pages we can feel, the technological revolution may change the face of reading.

People can now download e-books from web sites on to a desktop or portable computer or a handheld gadget, available from electrical stores, costing between £100 and £500.

These devices, which are multi-functional - sort of electronic personal organisers - are about the size of a video cassette and can store up to 10 books which can be downloaded from the net.

A dedicated book-reading device, the Rocket e-Book, has been pioneered in America but is not yet available in the UK.

However, technology is advancing all the time and some have predicted that in future years libraries may be transformed into outlets not dissimilar to video stores, as handheld devices containing a number of downloaded books are lent out rather than their paper equivalents.

Basically, at the moment the customer pays to download the material.

On average, the price of an e-book will be the lowest price of its equivalent paper book.

"It offers the author a whole range of new opportunities and freedom," said Frederick Forsyth.

It will enable authors to write a book, for instance, with a number of different endings.

While paper books are largely sold depending on the attractiveness of their cover, marketeers of e-books will have a much wider scope thanks to multi-media facilities like moving pictures and audio.

But book-shop managers are not yet thinking of packing up shop.

I'm not scared about it," said Wil Williams, manager of Hammicks Bookshops in Worcester's City Arcade.

The internet is not going to break new writers, it's only going to be the top level of writers who will get away with it.

I don't see it taking over in the short term."

Stephen King's first e-book, the 67-page Riding The Bullet, sold more than 500,000 copies in 48 hours.

The majority of writers don't have the wealth to publish effectively, nor the high profile to guarantee sales.

Stephen King's second e-book, The Plant, published without the help of his publishers Simon And Schuster, was deemed less successful even though it sold (downloaded) 110,000 copies in the first week.

Readers pay $1 for each chapter, published in monthly instalments.

For this e-book, King had spent $124,000 in publicity, technology and project management by the end of July.

King can expect to recoup that cost and move into profit, if sales continue at the same pace, which they will - but only because he's Stephen King," said Phil Rance, managing director of Online Originals.

"Arguably, no other author has the brand name recognition and devoted following that King has."

He predicts that e-books on travel and business will become popular, as it will enable the user to save sections of a travel book on his/her portable handheld device if they are going to a particular region.

Businessmen will be able to save segments of business practice that a businessman might want to swat up on en route to a conference or meeting.

Others believe that they will be invaluable on holiday as the holidaymaker can store a number of novels on a book reader rather than having to pack a load of heavy books.

But traditionalists feel that there's no way computer technology can replace the sheer luxury of curling up in bed with a good book with pages you can feel.

People like holidays to get away from technology," said Mr Williams.

It's a relief to get a book in your hand and stay away from computers."

This is a view that internet experts share to some degree.

I don't believe e-books will replace paper books," said Mr Rance.

They will be complementary.

What we will see is a new type of medium emerge with different types of genres and different ways of reading."

Whatever happens, it looks like e-books are here to stay.

Earlier this year, a literary award was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair solely for electronic books, with a prize of £62,500.

Industry experts have predicted that by the end of the year there will be more than half a million electronic books, while an average bookshop may carry between 50,000 and 70,000 titles.