Olive Tree Bible Software announced yesterday its launch of the best-selling New International Version (NIV) Red Letter Edition for handheld devices.

As a provider of Bible versions and study tools for Palm OS, Pocket PC, Smartphone and Symbian cell phones, and BlackBerry devices, Olive Tree publishes over 60 electronic translations of the Bible, as well as commentaries, dictionaries, eBooks, and parsing tools.

"[Now] our software makes it easy to take the NIV wherever you go," says Kristi Allen, Project Manager at Olive Tree, "This leading Bible translation becomes even more functional when it is enhanced by our innovative, user-friendly technology."

According to the Lake Oswego, Ore.-based company, its ¡§unique software design¡¨ is ¡§ideal¡¨ for personal reading or intensive Bible studying. Additionally, the electronic format allows easy navigation as well as quick search capability. The NIV can be supplemented by commentaries, devotionals, Bible dictionaries, Greek and Hebrew tools, and many additional Bible versions.

Palm OS and Pocket PC versions for the NIV also include bookmarks, personal notes, color highlighting, plus the ability to divide the screen of your device to display multiple texts at one time, and much more.

The software is also available for Smartphone, Symbian, and BlackBerry devices.

¡§Translated by the leading biblical scholars in the world, the NIV is the most read and most trusted modern English translation in the world,¡¨ says Cameron Conant, Public Relations Manager at Zondervan, the exclusive North American publisher of the NIV.

Since the release of the NIV more than 30 years ago, more than 215 million copies of the version have been sold or distributed.