Competition between China's online book sellers intensified after 360Buy.com Tuesday started offering price discounts of up to 20 percent compared to major rivals including Beijing-based Dangdang.com and Joyo, the China division of Amazon.com.

"The strategy of 360Buy is obviously to expand revenue streams," said Li Molin, vice president at Beijing Xingchang Xinda Technology Development Co, an e-commerce services provider.

"This can help them speed up the capital cycle and these price cuts can also draw visitors to its website," Li said.

360Buy is well known for its extensive product line and low prices on home appliances and consumer electronics. It started selling books in November.

After receiving US$150 million in venture capital in the first half of this year, the company may be looking to further expand.

360Buy President Liu Qiangdong said the company may launch an initial public offering overseas as early as next year after three rounds of fund raising. The company said sales could reach 12 billion yuan this year.

"Users can monitor our book price and report to us if the discount doesn't reach 20 percent," Liu wrote on his microblog yesterday.

"We will expand our logistics center to provide better service for customers in the face of stiffer competition," he said on Monday.

"Our price cut does not target Dangdang, but open and fair competition will ultimately result in a better shopping experience for users," Liu said.

Dangdang's shares soared 87 percent on debut last Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States.

The company's IPO raised US$272 million.