Google is working with some of the world’s top publishers to do for books what Apple’s iPod has done for music.

Under the Google proposals, buyers will be able to download entire books in a format they could read on screen or even on mobile devices such as a Blackberry.

The move would give a significant boost to the development of ebooks and would have a big impact on both publishers and booksellers.

Jens Redmer, director of Google Book Search in Europe, announced : “We are working on a platform that will let publishers give readers full access to a book online. You may just want to rent a travel guide for the holiday or buy a chapter of a book. Ultimately, it will be the readers who decide how books are read.”

He believes that after many years in the doldrums, ebooks looked poised to go mainstream.

The Sunday Times reports : “Sony recently launched its Reader, a digital book device with an online book store stocking 10,000 titles. Amazon, the world’s largest online bookseller, is also planning to launch an ebook service.”

Evan Schnittman of Oxford University Press — a Google partner — said he foresaw a number of categories becoming popular downloads : “Do you really want to go on holiday carrying four novels and a guide book?”

This will be part of Google’s Book Search service. Its partnership with publishers will make books searchable online with publishers’ approval. Links will then guide buyers to sites where they can buy a physical copy of the book.

Penguin, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster are among those involved in the project.