Starting next month, General Mills will package a free CD recording of Simon & Schuster's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey on 550,000 special banded packs containing both Basic 4 and Oatmeal Crisp Raisin cereals. The back panels of these banded boxes contain an overview of the 7 Habits title and a photo of Covey.

An additional 13 million boxes of cereal, including Wheat Chex and Raisin Nut Bran, will feature a mail-in offer that allows consumers to choose a free audiobook from among five other top S&S titles including Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley.

"This is a first," said Gilles Dana, president and publisher of S&S Audio, "and a great opportunity to get millions of eyes looking at audiobooks. It's a healthy sign of the growing acceptance of the audio industry."

The offer is scheduled to run from September through December. The boxes began shipping August 20.