By Siobhan O’Leary

A recent survey conducted by Bitkom (the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media), published in the Boersenblatt, reveals that books are the third most popular products purchased online. Plane and train tickets were first, while concert tickets came in second. According to Bitkom, 35% of those surveyed have purchased a book online. Music landed in 7th place and movie tickets in 8th . The results also showed that 88% of all Internet users in Germany have purchased some form of goods or services online.

In related news, Germans spent more money online in the past year than ever before, according to the Bundesverbands des Deutschen Versandhandels [The German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association] and online sales are expected to hit 15.4 billion euros this year, says Borsenblatt.

Germany and Russia are planning to co-publish a textbook detailing the long and entangled history between the two nations, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The idea was discussed at the recent Petersburg Dialogue forum in Munich and follows a similar French-German collaborative history book published three years ago. An initial gathering of historians and instructors from both countries is planned for the fall.