Barnes & Noble this morning announced that its NOOK eBook Reader will be sold in 2,500 Walmart stores and Walmart.com. The devices are expected to hit Walmart shelves beginning as soon as October 24, in advance of the holiday shopping season, the company said.

B&N also said many Walmart stores will feature a NOOK-branded eReading area where shoppers can see and touch a demo device, although it didn’t specify which and how many stores.

Both eBook Reader models (the 3G and the new Wi-Fi only ones) will be on sale at Walmart.

The devices have been available at Best Buy since April 2010.

(Source: press release)