Amazon.com the leading online bookseller, is to acquire two Internet companies in stock deals valued at $280 million (£198 million) the latest sign of the company's expansion beyond the Web-based book market. The Seattle-based company, which recently began selling compact discs online, has announced the purchases of PlanetAll, a Massachusetts company that runs an Internet-based organiser with address book, calendar as well as reminder service and 1.5 million members and Junglee, a virtual-database company based in California.

Amazon.com said it expected to issue approximately 800,000 shares for the PlanetAll deal and another 1.6 million shares to acquire Junglee. PlanetAll offers integrated services within other Internet sites, including Lycos and GeoCities. Amazon.com said the company would operate a wholly-owned subsidiary in Massachusetts. Amazon.com's shares rose $1.12 to $109.37 in early New York trading.