A whopping ?55.2million-worth of eBooks were sold in America in February.
But only ?49.8million was spent on paperbacks.
Sales of electronic books have increased 202 per cent on last year, according to the figures from the Association Of American Publishers.
And with Kindles, Sony Readers and iPads - which can hold up to 1,000 titles - already a hit in the UK, experts predict eBooks will soon outsell traditional books here too.
Their sales are expected to double this year alone.
Around ?24million was spent on printed books in Britain in the last week of March 2011 - a 12 per cent drop compared with the same week last year and the tenth week this year that sales have fallen.
But according to industry insider Neill Denny, editor of The Bookseller magazine, paperbacks shouldn't be written off just yet.
He says: "eBooks have been sold in the UK for over two years now. Since last autumn there has been a big increase in the numbers being sold across all brands. For example, the Kindle was an especially popular present at Christmas.
"Right now the eBook market in the UK is about five per cent of the whole book market. That is compared to about one per cent last year, so they are growing at a rapid rate.
"But the book industry doesn't expect literature to move completely to eBook form."
The popularity of eBooks has been closely monitored since the Sony Reader was launched in the UK in 2008.
Amazon released their Kindle in time for Christmas 2010, making it a must-have festive gift.
And in January the online retailers said they were selling more copies of Kindle eBooks than traditional paperbacks.
But eBooks are often cheaper than their printed counterparts, with more than two million available for free, so Denny points out they aren't as lucrative - yet.
He says: "There is a question of volume and value. eBooks sell many copies but are cheaper in terms of value. So they may change the way books are sold, but they don't bring in the same amount of cash.
"No one can predict where all this will lead. It's very much a case of waiting to see."
John Makinson, chief executive of book publisher Penguin, has also watched the performance of eBooks with interest. His firm popularised the paperback in the 1930s.
He says: "It is cheaper to make an eBook because you don't have to print it, put it in a warehouse and ship it around.
"One of the questions we face as publishers is how to distribute the cost between the author, retailer, customer and publisher.
"eBooks attract VAT whereas a traditional book does not.
"So right now in this country, the taxman is the biggest beneficiary of the eBook."
View the original article here
