At one minute past midnight, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ — the sixth and penultimate volume in the boy wizard series — went on sale in Britain and beyond, following a breathtaking countdown at Edinburgh Castle, which was made to resemble Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

To mark the moment, Joanne Kathleen Rowling read from her long-awaited novel live on television from inside the castle, which was also beamed onto a giant screen for 2000 children and their families seated behind barriers outside.

At the same time, thousands of other "Potter parties" taking place in book shops across the country erupted as fans young and old scrambled to get their hands on the first copies of the book.

"I am going to read from chapter six," the author told an audience of 70 competition winners, aged eight to 16, who were exclusively invited from around the world to witness the televised reading at a party in the castle.

Madness at book stores

As Rowling offered a tantalising taster of the book before the television cameras were turned off, elsewhere queues of Potter addicts, many in fancy dress, poured into book stores to snap up their own copy of the hefty tome.

"It's been mad," said Matthew Perren, manager of an Edinburgh branch of Ottakars, one of Britain's top book stores, which temporarily changed its name to Potterkars for the occasion.

"We have had all kinds of wizards, witches, magical fun and balloon bursting and just mental nonsense," said Perren, himself dressed up as Rubeus Hagrid, Potter's half-giant friend, noting that at least 200 people turned up.

Ottakars, along with rivals such as WH Smith and Waterstone's, are due to keep stores open until the last nocturnal customer leaves and then re-open a few hours later — where possible — for what looks set to be one of their busiest days in the year.

"I was desperate to see what happens to Harry," said Keith Mcleish (17), a student from Edinburgh, clutching his treasured copy in a paper bag.

"It is just a compulsive read. You can't put it down. I will probably be late for work tomorrow because I will be finishing the book tonight," he said.

This passion, shared by people from Scotland to Singapore, New York to New Delhi, is what turned a simple children's story into a global sensation that is expected to sell some 10-million copies within the first 24 hours. The series has also spawned three blockbuster movies and top-selling merchandise.

Rumours that key character killed off

Rumours that Rowling kills off a key character have generated even more interest than usual in the launch, which sent Pottermania sweeping around the globe.

Nearly 2000 people queued outside the main Waterstone's branch in Oxford Street, London, where Savannah Mazda (15) became the first to buy the new book following an 18-hour wait.

"It's fantastic. It's phenomenal. I wanted to be the first one to get the book," said Mazda, an English girl who lives in New York but who returned especially for the launch.

British firm Bloomsbury is publishing Potter's latest adventures at Hogwarts in Britain, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, while US publisher Scholastic was to serve a record 10.8-million copies up to the United States at midnight eastern time (0400 GMT).

English-language versions of the book are also be available in other countries, with translated manuscripts due out in a few months.

Cheers for Rowling

The fans at Edinburgh Castle erupted in cheers when Rowling (39), wearing a black dress and black jacket, drew up outside in a dark car and waved.

"Excited, I am excited," she told a group of reporters. "There are a lot of answers in this book. I can't wait for everyone to read it."

On Sunday, the author will grant her only press conference — speaking to the 70 youngsters who must then write up articles for the world's media.

In addition, a 14-year-old Welsh fan, Owen Jones, is due to conduct the only one-on-one interview with Rowling which will be broadcast that evening.

The launch follows a massive security operation to prevent the contents of Potter's latest adventure from leaking out, but some lapses have occurred in the United States and Canada. In addition, fears are high that copyright pirates in Asia will rush out unofficial translations of the book.

AFP