Harry Potter mania sweeps the net

Harry Potter fans are turning to the web to get hold of the much anticipated fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


Sense, a charity organisation that helps blind and deaf people, is offering a signed copy of the book in a ten day auction hosted by eBay.


The book was originally put up for sale by Sense in March, attracting a top bid of £5,000, but is being re-auctioned after the original sale fell through. The auction has already attracted a top bid of £104.


Elsewhere on eBay, surfers are bidding for another signed copy of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, which the bidder claims he secured through a bookstore competition. The book, which had an opening bid of £9.99, has so far attracted a high bid of £310


Online retailer Amazon said it has received more than one million advance orders for Harry otter and the Order of the Phoenix, making it the fastest-selling new product ever to appear on Amazon.


According to Amazon, if the 300,000 copies that have been pre-ordered on its UK website were stacked one on top of the other, the books would be more than twice the height of Mount Everest.


An original handwritten manuscript from JK Rowling is also the subject of high bidding at eBay. The manuscript, a contribution Rowling made to a charity paperback book, called The Moment That Changed My Life, has attracted a bid of £1,250.


And finally, on 26 June, Harry fans can listen to JK Rowling read from the new book and answer questions about the bespectacled wizard on the net.


Harry otter and the Order of the Phoenix is due for release on 21 June.