!. Sports Illustrated's famous 'Swimsuit Issue' is coming to the iPod via iTunes.


This year, not only will the bikini-clad hotties appear on news stands, they will also be available for download on iTunes. Users will be able to download eight specially produced videos for the usual $1.99 each, according to an article in Monday's New York Times.

It is the mothership of what we do. We want to leverage the power of that franchise," Mark Ford, president and publisher of Sports Illustrated, told the paper. "Sports Illustrated is a multimedia brand. It's a magazine. It's online. It's mobile. It's an event.

Ford told The Times that although 4.8 million swimsuit copies will be sold, more than any Sports Illustrated issue, up to 60 million people will actually see the magazines. If that's the case, then it's the most widely-read magazine edition in the world.....and of course, everyone buys it for the sport!