Bookworms are due to meet for a book swap in a cafe near Shanghai's Xintiandi this afternoon.

More than 100 expatriates have joined the Shanghai BookCrossing Club in the past six months, meeting once a month on Saturdays at the Figaro Coffee Company on Xingye Road from 2pm to 3pm.

Membership is free, so keen readers can exchange books. The idea is based on a Website (bookcrossing.com) which encourages people to register their books online and then give them away, or "release their books into the wild."

Comments on the Website from later readers allow the original owners to track their books as they travel all over the world.

"I love books myself," said Rosario Juan, manager of the Figaro Coffee Company. "The book exchange is really a nice, new concept.''

The most-swapped items were English books and magazines, she said. And many English-speaking Chinese found it a useful way to practice their language skills.

"Since the selection of foreign language books in China isn't as big as in other countries and the price for foreign books is also high, the club was started by an American in 2004," said Juan.

Up to 40 people were active club members, she said.

By Angela Xu