Audio Books: Boon or Bane?

 
I watched a segment on the Saturday Morning Early Show on the growing popularity of audio books. They even made mention that a lot of authors are thinking of doing audio books instead of having their stories published in print.
I can remember back in my childhood, how important it was to read a book. I can remember buying children story books with CDs so my sons could listen to the stories while they were looking at the books.  It would capture their interest as they turned the pages of what was coming next in the story.
Could audio books hurt our children in reading?  Or will it inspire them to “read more,” even if it means pressing play on their iPod. My sons, to this day, don’t like to read a book, especially if they can listen to it.  What happens if your child needs to do a book report? Will they wait until the day before its due so they could listen to the audio and summarize what they heard instead of reading the material?
Will it make them slow readers?
We are already having problems with people driving and texting.  Won’t the audio books be another distraction, especially if you listened to it while driving?