Granger-mania sweeps the web

As the next Harry Potter movie prepares to hit the silver screen and eager fans await the last book of the series, excitement surrounding the boy-wizard is at a high.

However, it seems that much of it isn't for Harry himself, but his friend Hermione Granger. Or, at least, the actress who plays the character in the films.

There have been more searches in the UK for Emma Watson than Paris Hilton in the past two weeks, making her the sixth most searched-for celebrity by UK surfers, according to data from internet monitoring company Hitwise.

Indeed, there have been three times more searches for Watson than there have been for Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the films.

And it seems likely that young males are largely responsible for the high number of searches - many of the requests have been for 'Emma Watson photos' and 'Emma Watson boyfriend'.

Potter-mania is also being exploited by hackers. Recently, security firm Sophos warned of USB drives which it was claimed contained a manuscript for the new book.

The drives in fact contained a worm which infects the PC and any other USB drives attached to it.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth Harry Potter film, will be in cinemas from Friday 13 July. The last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, goes on sale on Saturday 21 July.

www.hitwise.com

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