NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Sports Illustrated's iconic swimsuit issue is crossing into the new millennium.

Not only will the bikini-clad ladies appear on newsstands Tuesday, they will also be on iTunes, where viewers can download eight specially produced videos for $1.99 each, according to an article Monday in the New York Times.

In addition to the partnership with Apple's online store, the Times said customers can also download content to a cellphone or to a hand-held device through a deal the magazine has made with American Greetings Interactive.

"It is the mother ship 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 true, that makes it the most widely-read magazine edition in the world.

Sport's Illustrated is owned by Time Warner (Research), CNNMoney.com's parent company.

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Bikini empire -- Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has spawned spin-off products worth $10 million a year. Click here