Spaniards have waited for 16 years, but it is finally here. Amazon.es will be up and running on September 15, a day after its presentation by Greg Greeley, vice-president of the online seller's European division, sources in the know said.

For now, users of the Spanish portal will only be able to purchase physical items such as books, music and movies. The online giant has been buying stock from Spanish bookstores for a year to offer on its website.

By the end of the year, Amazon hopes to have rolled out its entire selection of products, including its proprietary e-reader Kindle and its virtual book catalog. The popular sales portal was created in 1995 by Jeff Bezos out of Seattle, and it has since then become the largest online bookseller.