Children in Beijing lined up in their hundreds from 5am yesterday to get their hands on a copy of the latest Harry Potter novel.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series about the boy magician, made its Chinese-character debut yesterday, arriving to great fanfare 10 days early.

The publishers said this was because of huge demand but they also acknowledged it was an attempt to beat counterfeit versions to the market.

"We want to protect our trademark. We want the best out first," said Liu Yushan, president of the People's Literature Publishing House, the Chinese firm that has brought all the official versions of the Harry Potter stories in China. The first four books sold millions.

The publisher has distributed 800,000 copies of the latest book throughout China in recent days, rushing to prepare for yesterday's synchronised release. Officials expect a sellout within a week.

Copies of the book, which costs 59 yuan (HK$55), were pre-wrapped and ready for quick sales in Beijing's Xidan shopping street.

A vast balloon shaped like an old Chinese lantern floated above the Avenue of Eternal Peace at one of Beijing's busiest intersections. "Harry Potter is here," it said. "Are you?"

"You pick up a Harry Potter book and you just can't stop reading," said Fan Jiaming, 10, as he waited behind more than 400 people to buy his copy. His father Fan Bingzhen said: "Today, he won't eat. He won't drink. He'll just go home and read it."

Parents waiting in line said this hunger for reading is good news for a society where video games, Chinese MTV and readily available Hollywood movies on DVD - most of them counterfeit as well - are vying for the attention of young Chinese consumers.

Pang Guanghua stood in line for several hours to buy a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for her daughter, Shang Si, 12, who was studying and could not come to the shop. "She's read all of them. I don't quite understand why," Ms Pang said. "But she loves them."

Zhao Nan, 14, said: "The story's exciting no matter where you come from."

As usual, though, preventing fakes will be a battle.

The fantasy series by J.K. Rowling is wildly popular in China - an entire fake novel was written and published illegally last year - and intellectual-property pirates are known for their resourcefulness.

Last week, fake copies of Order of the Phoenix were already on sale in the western city of Urumqi.

Worldwide, the Harry Potter books have sold more than 200 million copies in 50 languages.

The English-language edition of Order of the Phoenix went on sale in Beijing on June 21 as part of its global launch. In July, fans began posting rough, often confusing translations on Internet sites.

Mr Liu said: "Since China has opened up, interactions with the west have grown. These kids want to be part of the common culture," he said, his voice drowned out by a loud rendition of an American song.

A Chinese Harry Potter was at the launch, complete with brown schoolboy wig. He tossed gifts to the crowd and whipped up its enthusiasm. "I'm not Harry Potter. He's in England," the pretender said. "But don't you think I look like him?"

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