Amazon launches book gifting service

As sure as there's a 'X' in 'Christmas'

Amazon has launched a new moneymaker service: you can now send Kindle books as gifts to anyone with an email address, whether or not they own one of Amazon's lightweight e-readers.

There's now no need to leave your computer for holiday book-buying

The new program allows you to choose e-gifts from among Amazon's 725,000-plus ebooks and fire them off to your chosen giftees, who can then read them on their Kindles, or by using Amazon's free e-reading apps for the Mac, PC, BlackBerry, plus iOS and Android devices — with support for Windows Phone 7 "coming soon".

Should the recipient not appreciate Sarah Palin's subtle literary stylings in Going Rogue — or, for that matter, the collected leftie wisdom in its Bizarro World counterpart, Going Rouge — they can exchange your well-meaning gift for an equal-value Amazon gift card.

Gift-giving for the lazy — no fiddling with wrapping paper or ribbon required — and another blow to your neighborhood bookseller. ®