As many students continue to gripe over spending hard-earned cash on a book that might never be used, one company is seeking an online alternative.

Freeload Press Inc., based in Saint Paul, Minn., has started selling advertising space in electronic textbooks so the company can provide the books completely free of charge to any student who wants them, Chief Operating Officer Howard Quinlan said.

"We're doing everything we can to liberate the textbook," he said.

By the end of the month, the Freeload Press will have about 100 textbooks and supplementary materials available for free online at www.freeloadpress.com. The ads are placed at the beginning of new chapters, and during breaks within chapters so they are not distracting to readers, Quinlan said.

"Our focus groups with instructors, as well as students, didn't want the educational flow interrupted," he said.

Quinlan said companies looking to capitalize on the college student demographic are supportive of the free e-books and are the ones buying ad space.

He said the books have been used by thousands of students at 500 schools, including Penn State.

He said the company is hoping to expand the book list during the fall and well into 2007.

Quinlan added that hard copies of the same textbooks are available at Freeload Press' Web site without advertisements for 60 to 70 percent off the retail price.