Harry Potter fans hit Amazon

Fans of the magical world of Harry Potter have placed more than one million pre-orders online for the much-anticipated sixth book in the wizard series.

According to online retailer Amazon, Potter lovers worldwide have rushed to its sites to ensure they will be among the first to receive Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the day of its release - 16 July.

Amazon revealed last month that in the UK it has already taken more than 200,000 pre-orders for the book, which is on offer for £8.99. It has now said that one million pre-orders for US and UK editions have been placed at worldwide sites including France, Canada, Japan and Germany.

Kes Nielsen, senior vendor relations manager at Amazon.co.uk, said: “Amazon customers are clearly incredibly excited about the sixth Harry Potter book and we are delighted they have chosen the Amazon websites across the globe to place one million pre-orders.”

In 2003, the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, received more than 1.3 million pre-orders worldwide and was Amazon UK's bestselling item with 420,000 pre-orders alone.

Amazon