Lonely Planet has launched its Discover e-book series for the iPad. The e-books are available from Apple’s iBookstore now.

Inspired by Lonely Planet’s full-colour print series, Discover e-books help travellers discover the must-see sights of five destinations – Great Britain, Italy, Spain, France, and Ireland – at launch. The guides will be priced at $17.99/£12.99/€15.99, though they are currently being sold for $14.99/£9.99/€11.99 for “a limited time”.

The e-books enable readers to navigate easily from expert editorial to specific points of interest, which are then displayed on a map to get them to their destination. Places can be bookmarked, and users can use Google or Wikipedia to search for more information; email or share suggestions with friends; and click on hyperlinks to get straight to a hotel, restaurant or attraction’s website. The e-books also allow iPad users to experience Lonely Planet’s top recommendations and unbeatable experiences through stunning images from its leading photographers.

The e-books include more than 3,000 hyperlinks; a search engine; hundreds of images, detailed maps with imbedded points of interest, chapter landing pages; and the ability to bookmark and make notes on travel highlights, then see them as a summary.

“Travellers’ needs are constantly changing and the iPad has given us the opportunity to reinvent our Discover guides as e-books for a completely new travel planning experience,” says Lonely Planet CEO, Matt Goldberg. “In developing our Discover e-books series, we’ve pushed Apple’s e-publishing technology to its limits, creating immersive and intuitive guides to help travellers get to the heart of a place and enjoy the very best each destination has to offer.”

There’s more information here.