Harry Potter mania hits Asia

HONG KONG (AFP) - All-night parties and Hogwarts Express-style train trips were among the hundreds of events planned Friday as Harry Potter fans across Asia prepared for the eagerly-awaited release of the seventh and final book in the series.

In Muslim Bangladesh, where Friday is a holiday, customs offices were staying open specially to ensure fans got their delivery of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on time, while in Thailand, the British ambassador was planning an early start to hand over the first copy of the book.

In Australia, the region's biggest English-language market, fans of the boy wizard were expected to brave the chill winter weather to camp out overnight to ensure they receive one of the first copies.

Book stores across the country will host wizards, fire-breathers, jugglers, owls and snakes to celebrate the countdown to the novel's release, with several even organising Hogwarts Express-style train trips.

Book seller Dymocks said it had received more than 70,000 advance orders for the new Harry Potter, which campaign manager Natalie Mitchell said it was "definitely the biggest book we've ever seen."

"We've had over 5,000 pre-orders in the George Street store (in Sydney) so we're expecting a huge crowd in the morning," she said.

In New Delhi, one book store manager said excitement was at fever pitch.

"There's a kind of Potter-mania among the kids. There's much more excitement than for the last book -- they say this might be the last book in the series.

"The kids have been enquiring for the last six months about the book, asking, 'When is the book coming?'" said Jolly Sabherwal, manager of the Full Circle Bookstore.

Hundreds of bookstore staff were planning to don wizard costumes to promote the book, which is being released across the world at 2300 GMT.

Workers at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Singapore are to dress up to hand out free drinks and specially printed bookmarks to Harry Potter fans, while staff at Dymocks' Hong Kong stores were planning to tour the city dressed as wizards.

Hong Kong teenager Fiona Cheung said she had pre-ordered the book over two months in advance. "I'm impatient because I like it," she said.

Bookstores in Bangkok were planning all-night celebrations for the book's release.

Asia Books set up an outdoor movie screen in front of the posh Emporium shopping complex where they will show the Harry Potter movies through the night.

Asia Books said 10,000 copies had already been reserved, and it expected to sell four times that many.

In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, QB Books will host a live band, a discussion on the boy wizard and a film screening in a 24-hour Potter marathon, while Gramedia Books is setting up stalls in the parking lot to cope with the expected crowds.

Across Asia, the volumes were being kept tightly under wraps following a controversy over leaks and advance publication of reviews.

Malaysia's Star newspaper showed boxes of the books at a shopping complex with the instructions "Do not open before July 21, 2007" pasted over them.

South Korean bookstores they had received thousands of advance orders for the series finale, although some warned the book's length would deter fans from reading it in English.

Moonhak Suchup, which plans to publish a Korean translation in November, said author J.K. Rowling's latest book would attract more readers than earlier editions.

"They want to see how the story comes to an end and what will happen to Harry," said a company spokeswoman.

"We have sold 11 million copies of Korean translations. We expect to sell 1.5 million copies this time."