This will be the first step in a strategy to mount "the first major commercial challenge ever launched on the established cosy world of authors, agents and publishing houses," Tesco said.With over 10 million people shopping at Tesco stores everyweek, the supermarket hopes to eventually become the natural home for big name writers, becoming an alternative to the traditional bookshops it said could be "stuffy and intimidating".

Fiona Kennedy, Tesco book buyer, said: "We believe that books are for everyone. For too long, books have been seen as the preserve of a certain social class, and many publishing houses seem content with this arrangement. Tesco wants to make buying a book as common as buying a pint of milk, so wehave decided to strike out on our own."