Amazon demoed its Kindle for the Web application at the GoogleChrome event last week. It also announced that Kindle for the Web will enable anyone with access to a web browser to buy and read full Kindle books - but this service still has the status of "coming soon".

Amazon "launched" Kindle for the Web back in September and the idea that it would give a free and easy way for customers to sample Kindle books directly through web browsers without having to bother with installation or downloading was greeted with enthusiasm.

As was the prospect of the opportunity for website owners to earn referral fees through the Amazon Associates Program when customers were hooked on the basis of reading a few initial pages.

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The latest announcement expands both of these ideas: customers will be able to buy books and read them in their entirety in their web browser; and website owners including bookstores, authors and bloggers will be able to offer Kindle complete books from their own sites and earn referral fees for sales made through their sites.

But Kindle for the Web is still in beta and the December 7 announcement says it "will be available in the coming months". So while there has been a flurry of excitement this week Kindle for the Web is not yet up and running.

What is available is the availability for many titles with Kindle editions of samples that can be downloaded to your Kindle device or to Kindle for the PC, Mac or Smartphone - but this does not give the same flexibility as Kindle for the Web.

So despite what you might read in other news reports Kindle for the Web is still not available - not even as a public beta.

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