Renowned United States publication group Reader's Digest on Tuesday bought its first Chinese book copyright in Shanghai.

With 80 years history, Reader's Digest is an international multi-national publication group. Its magazine of the same title is published in 19 languages and sold 27 million copies monthly to nearly 100 million readers around the world. The publication group also runs book and advertisement businesses in more than 60 countries and regions of the world.

The company bought the copyright for a historical encyclopedia on China from Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing House.

Rosemarie Wallace, Chief Executive Officer of the publication group in Asia said Reader's Digest bought the book because it may fit the taste of readers in north America as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Reader's Digest will publish the historical encyclopedia in Chinese this October and its English version will come out later.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2003)