NEW YORK---April 30, 2002-- Educating consumers on the benefits of electronic books, the Open eBook Forum announces the launch of its worldwide public awareness campaign, "Open an eBook...Discover New Worlds of Reading," (www.openanebook.org). The eBook industry trade and standards association, the non-profit Open eBook Forum has designed the campaign to highlight how eBook technologies and products promote literacy, provide access to books for those with reading disabilities, and have enhanced educational opportunities. The campaign launches on May 2, with extensive promotions from Open eBook Forum members, such as Microsoft Corporation, Adobe Systems, Random House, and McGraw-Hill; free book downloads from the top publishers available at openanebook.org; and a major media outreach. "This is the grand re-opening of the eBook industry," said Open eBook Forum executive director Nicholas Bogaty. "eBooks are enjoying global success in the classroom, in the business community, with travelers, and the vision impaired. In fact, sales of eBooks increased by 40% in 2001 over the previous year. We're launching this campaign to invite people to come to our site, and `Open an eBook' for free to see just how satisfying it can be to carry titles on New York Times Best-Seller list in their breast pocket or access new reading material from the comfort of their living room." In addition to the convenience of eBooks, the campaign is also designed to promote the enormous benefits of electronic publication for educators and the disabled. Noteworthy for their ease of distribution to students, strong search capabilities and myriad resources for the learning and sight disabled, eBooks are emerging as an increasingly logical alternative to traditional books. The Open an eBook...Discover New Worlds of Reading campaign launches on May 2 as a precursor to New York's BookExpo America online at www.openanebook.org and at an event in Manhattan the evening of May 1. The launch party will showcase new electronic devices from major technology companies such as Palm, Microsoft and Franklin; and include talks by educators and leading book industry proponents of electronic publishing.