In another move to expand the horizons of its digital warehouse, HarperCollins announced in a statement today the creation of the “Browse Inside” widget, which enables fans and authors to embed sample pages of their favorite books directly onto social networking sites and blogs. It marks the first time a syndicated reader for books has been available online. The widget provides simple code that can be copied and placed on a profile or blog. Currently, the standard browsable sample pages that are available include the covers, front matter, back matter and first three pages of chapters one and two.

“The Browse Inside widget is the most recent marketing tool we have developed using the capabilities of our digital warehouse to market our titles to the MySpace generation online,” said Brian Murray, Group President, HarperCollins. “We are extending our reach beyond the HarperCollins site to where many potential book buyers visit – on social communities, blogs or author sites.”