Livemocha CEO Michael Schutzler hasn’t been shy about taking some shots at rival Rosetta Stone over the years. Last year, for example, the Seattle Internet executive declared that Rosetta Stone would have a “long mountain to climb” in order to compete with Livemocha in online language learning.

But there’s one spot where Rosetta Stone has always held an advantage: Retail. The company’s yellow-boxed CD-ROM titles are ubiquitous at retail locations in malls and airports.

But Livemocha, which has raised about $14 million from August Capital and Maveron, is now looking to toss some stones of its own into that territory.

Through a partnership with Harper Collins and Merriam Webster, Livemocha has begun selling language learning course books at Barnes & Noble and…  read more