Simon & Schuster announced yesterday a list of electronic books that it will sell this fall, making it the third major trade publisher to offer books that can be downloaded and read on a computer screen.

Although no one knows whether consumers will pay for electronic versions of trade books, Simon & Schuster, a unit of Viacom, joins the Random House imprint of Bertelsmann and Time Warner's trade publishing division in plunging into the e-book business.

Simon & Schuster's electronic books will include titles sold exclusively in digital form. They include a biography of the winning presidential candidate written for children and set for release immediately after the election. Simon & Schuster will also offer a health guidebook produced with the Harvard Medical School, a book elaborating on events in the movie ''Blair Witch Project,'' books based on video games and titles related to ''Star Trek.''

Jack Romanos, president of Simon & Schuster, said the titles were selected to capitalize on the potential for marketing to groups active on the Internet, like fans of ''The Blair Witch Project'' or ''Star Trek.''

''I'm not sure we know how to reach an audience for an electronic book online unless the subject lends itself to that kind of promotion,'' he said.

The rest of the list will be published simultaneously with new hardcover books, including books by Stephen Ambrose, Bob Woodward, Jesse Ventura and Jimmy Carter.

Random House and Time Warner are creating imprints to publish their electronic books, but Simon & Schuster is not. Mr. Romanos said the publisher wanted ''to pull everybody into digital publishing's evolution rather than wait for individuals to put up their hands and say, 'I get it.' ''

Simon & Schuster will charge $5 to $15 for books sold only in electronic versions and will sell the other electronic books for the same price as their hardcover versions.

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