Ann Arbor, Mich. - Media retail chain Borders on Tuesday announced the launch of Borders Audiobook Downloads on Borders.com with an initial slate of 15,000 titles. Powered by audiobook distributor OverDrive, the site at launch offers around one-third of its catalog in the unprotected MP3 format

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Media retail store chain Borders (NYSE: BGP) on Tuesday announced a deal with Michael Eisner's Vuguru digital content studio, to distribute "Robin Cook's Foreign Body: The Prequel" on Borders.com. The original webisode series was created to promote the release of the author's new novel. Visitors to the official Vuguru site for the "Foreign Body" series will also see links to purchase the novel exclusively at Borders.com.

Emeryville, Calif. - Alibris, the operator of an online marketplace for new and second-hand books, said on Wednesday that it has developed an online marketplace for Borders.com. The section features more than 75 million used and out-of-print titles offered for sale by Alibris sellers. The marketplace is accessible on Borders.com under the Used Books tab.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Borders Group (NYSE: BGP), which operates a chain of 1,100 stores that sell books, music and movies, announced on Tuesday that it has re-launched its own new e-commerce site, after severing a seven-year relationship with rival Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN).

Southbury, Conn. - Three months after launching its first technology-enhanced concept store in Michigan, book retailer Borders (NYSE: BGP) on Friday unveiled a new, 22,000-square-foot concept store in Southbury, Conn. The store features multiple computer kiosks dedicated to new services such as music and book downloading, along with services for mixing and burning custom CDs. Customers can trace their roots at a station powered by Ancestry.com, or publish their own books at a station powered by Lulu.com. The retailer, which also is planning to launch a redesigned website, said that it is hoping to use the technology angle to differentiate itself from competitors.

Cleveland, Ohio - OverDrive, a distributor of digital books to online retailers, libraries and schools, announced on Tuesday that it has added DRM-free audiobook titles in the MP3 format to its offering. The titles, from publishers including Random House Audio, Blackstone Audiobooks, Hachette Book Group and Books in Motion, will initially be made available through Borders.com's audiobook store, with a limited selection also to be offered through OverDrive's library partners.

New York - Sony (NYSE: SNE) on Thursday launched eStories, a new section of its eBook Store that will feature more than 1,000 short stories from American authors, including Philip K. Dick, Mike Resnick and R.L. Stine. The eStories, which can be read on a PC or Sony's Reader digital book device, will be priced from $0.99 to $1.99 each and sell from both Sony's eBook Store and Borders Online eBook Store.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Books and media retail store chain Borders Group (NYSE: BGP) plans to launch its own retail website next month -- and may offer MP3 downloads -- after taking back that responsibility from Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN), which has operated Borders.com since 1991. Borders is the nation's second-largest bookseller, behind Barnes & Noble, but for years has been sharing the profits from its online sales with rival Amazon.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Borders, the retailer of books, music and movies with 1,200 stores worldwide, this week announced plans to close nearly half of its Waldenbooks stores, end its relationship with Amazon.com and focus on its domestic superstores, after reporting disappointing results for its fiscal fourth quarter.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - U.S. retailer Borders announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with online social network Gather.com, to create an online community to host author chats, interviews, and in-store event information. The Borders.Gather.com site will also post user-supplied content like articles, blogs and chats, and offer users who contribute to the site Gather Points that can be redeemed for Borders merchandise.