immediately? Why as an electronic book downloaded as a PDF file off the Internet of course.

Living in France and being able to find a lot of books in English by a wide variety of authors is reassuring to me, even though, well, I just don't have time to read anymore.

But it is reassuring, and the new strategy of small payments for online books, is one I forecast will payoff for those attempting to expand distribution through the Internet.

Science fiction seems to be the rage. I was actually hunting for the name of a Harlan Ellison short story I had read before, when I came across Fictionwise.

(http:/www.fictionwise.com).

The site has a wide variety of titles and great descriptions of the various e-books it sells. Downloads are available for Palm, Rocket eBook, and regular computer users.

"`I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream'' by Ellison costs 99 cents to download.

The company knows its science fiction market. It even notes that Palm versions of the story may contain a character representation of a punch card graphic published with the original story.

"The punch card graphic and the Palm character representation of it were approved by Mr. Ellison, and he tells us that both contain a message that few people have ever decoded,'' Fictionwise writes. Now that statement will pique any freak's attention.

Internet companies willing to steal your cash through false investment promises are pouring out of cyberspace with ever more fabulously disguised ruses, according to the latest report by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC announced last week it had charged 23 companies and individuals in cases involving a broad spectrum of Internet securities fraud. The SEC has now filed over 200 cases against Internet fraudsters.

The frauds were accomplished by a variety of online means, including "spam'' e-mails, electronic newsletters, websites, hyperlinks, message boards and other Internet media. The SEC alleges that Sunset Investment Group, its sole owner James Brown, Inc., Pinnacle Capital Advisors, and Austin Tanner made false and misleading performance claims on OptionInvestor.com, SplitTrader.com, and NetBulls.com websites.

OptionInvestor.com claimed its actual returns on investments ranged from 60 percent to 240 percent for subscribers who followed its trading philosophy and trading recommendations.

Chidwhite Enterprises, Inc. and its sole shareholder and chief executive officer, Jerry L. Chidester, were alleged to have used spam e-mail and a web page to defraud over 6,000 investors. The company raised nearly $96,000 in the fraudulent offering of "free'' stock credits to those who paid an administrative fee of $10.

Smart-Mart, Inc., an Internet company and its founder, Timothy A. McMurray, and its president, Bradley D. Woy, were able to raise $2.4 million from about 720 investors by selling stock in the company stating that it would soon go public.

The SEC alleges that PinkMonkey.com, Inc., an online publisher located in Texas, and Patrick R. Greene, its founder and controlling shareholder, issued a fraudulent press release that caused a 950 percent increase in the price of PinkMonkey's common stock. As of the date of the release, PinkMonkey had operated the website for 14 months and generated only $30 in sales.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Contact Ahmed at editor yoffshoreon.com or (33) 467901474.