Amazon and its Marketplace forum - which provides a platform for people selling things online and using parcel delivery services - could experience further growth in the electronics market later this year with the launch of a colour version of the Kindle e-book reader.

The company is planning to introduce the new product some time in the second half of 2012, reports DigiTimes.

Amazon launched the Kindle in 2007 and now offers a number of devices in the range, including models with touchscreen and 3G technology.

DigiTimes cited industry sources who claimed that necessary parts and components for the colour version of the reader will start being shipped in May.

The sources added: "Amazon's new colour e-book readers will be built with multi-touch capacitive touch panels instead of infrared touch panels used in the previous mono-colour e-book readers."

It was also estimated that the online retailer will ship approximately six million Kindles in 2012.

Amazon announced earlier this year that the Kindle Fire tablet has been its bestselling, most gifted and most wished-for product since launch.

The company's sales increased by 34 per cent to $13.18 billion (£8.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2012, with electronic items making a particularly strong contribution to the figures.

Nine out of the top ten sellers on Amazon.com were digital products such as the Kindle, e-books, movies, music and applications.

The e-reader could receive yet another boost in popularity from June 19th this year when all seven books in the Harry Potter series are made available via the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, meaning Amazon Prime members can borrow them for free with no due dates.

Private sellers can also see the benefit of the online retailer's ongoing growth and success by listing products on the Marketplace forum and sending sold items to their new owners using Amazon delivery services.

Author:  Adrian Medland