Magical Harry casts spell over fans

IT'S magic! The long-awaited fifth book in the Harry Potter series has become an instant best-seller less than 24 hours after the June publication date was announced, online book stores have confirmed.

Amazon.com said it took only two hours after becoming available for pre-order for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to reach the top-selling spot.

Amazon.com's British arm, Amazon.co.uk, said more than 30,000 customers had placed orders in 24 hours for author JK Rowling's latest tale of the boy wizard and his adventures.