Online book launch hit by problems

There was disappointment for many fans clamouring to read Stephen King's latest novel, released exclusively on the internet, as technical glitches hit the site.

Thousands of consumers came close to downloading the author's latest chiller, Riding the Bullet, but the system became so overloaded that for many it was impossible to get all 66 pages of the £1.56 work.

The book's release on the internet yesterday morning was seen as the dawn of a publishing revolution and a major coup for Simon & Schuster Online.

A spokesperson for the publisher admitted that it had experienced a few technical problems, but said it was due to the extraordinary amount of traffic.

King will undoubtedly be very happy with the demand. In a statement prior to the book's release online, he said: "I'm curious to see what sort of response there is and whether or not this is the future."

Riding the Bullet is available in electronic format for download to e-book devices, Palm PDAs and PCs.