A Russian online e-book seller has received one of the first investments from a newly formed internet technology fund.

LitRes, based in Moscow, received $5 million from the Russian Internet Technology Fund. The company has been selling books since 2007 and is now the market leader in licensed distribution of e-books across Russia and the former Soviet republics.

The fund was created by Black River Ventures to support web-based businesses in Russia; fund partner Andrew Far said LitRes is poised to capitalize on trends toward online reading, and that the company needed help to combat pirated e-book sales.