New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): A mobile phone application will now enable readers and book lovers to log on to the Penguin database to browse through its bookshelf for latest titles and news related to publishing.

The free application, which can be downloaded from mobile phones like Apple and Nokia, will appear under "just published", "bestsellers" and "coming soon". Excerpts from forthcoming titles will also be available.

Publishing gossip will be available in the "news" section, launches and literature-related events in the "events section", while the "stay connected" section will enable discussions on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

"It is multi-facetted and the first service of its kind to be offered by a publisher in the country. It brings every aspect of reading and publishing on to a single digital platform," Hemali Sodhi, vice-president, marketing, Penguin India, told IANS Saturday.

"As our society grows more mobile, readers are clamouring for information to be delivered to them in new and creative ways," Penguin India CEO and president Andrew Phillips said.

"This is only the beginning of our long-term strategy to provide readers with all the information on their favourite books and authors in exciting new formats, wherever they are and whenever they want it."