Some books are available for free on the internet

Books by some authors, including Charles Dickens, George Eliot and Jane Austen, have already been published on the internet - but readers are yet to be convinced by the move from the page to the screen.

The Hemingway novels will be available to download for $9.99 (�6.85) from August.

"This is an important first step in creating a complete, scholarly electronic library for Hemingway, as well as bringing our classic backlist into the new era of digital publishing," said Susan Moldow, executive at publisher Simon and Schuster.

Simon and Schuster has been the exclusive United States publisher of Hemingway's books for 75 years.

A number of works by classic authors are available to find on the internet - some for free.

Current authors, including horror writer Stephen King, have also tried writing just for the internet.

But King stopped writing The Plant after just six chapters, saying most internet users had the "attention span of grasshoppers".

Successful

Publishing giants Random House and AOL Time Warner have shut down their e-book divisions and many in the industry are predicting the death of the new medium.

The most successful works on the internet are textbooks, research works and self-help volumes.

"The industry is pretty stagnant," according to Jupiter Media Metrix analyst David Card.

"The best advantage of this market is not for consumer fiction books, better for journals and trade books, travel guides and textbooks," he said.