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World greets new Harry Potter
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The much-hyped release of the fifth Harry Potter book has created a stir even in countries where English is not the native language.

Bookstores in Paris, Brussels and Bucharest were among those that put the book on sale as the clock struck midnight in Britain (2300GMT), although the book is currently being published only in English.

Australians laid on a Hogwarts Express steam train, while New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark joined a planned 27-hour reading of the book aiming to set a new record for reading aloud.

In the US, the president of the New York Public Library donned white gloves to accept a signed first edition delivered by armoured car. "We put the white gloves on only for the most special books," the library head, Paul LeClerc, told the Associated Press news agency. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix qualifies."

JK Rowling's previous four novels about the boy wizard and his nemesis Lord Voldemort have sold almost 200 million copies in 55 languages.

The latest, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', reveals which character dies - a much-guarded secret - and will keep readers occupied for quite some time with its 766 pages.

The new book went on sale on Saturday (21st June) in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and in English in many other countries around the world.

US bookstores handed out Harry Potter-style round glasses and chocolate frogs. In New York, a group of Harry Potter look-a-likes carried the first batches of books to the tills at ‘Toys R Us’ in Times Square.

Many booksellers recreated locations from the books, such as wizards' shopping street Diagon Alley and Kings Cross platform nine-and-three-quarters, from which the train to wizard school Hogwarts leaves.

In Copenhagen, bookstores stayed open late, while in Hong Kong, they opened early. Hong Kong's Bookazine bookstore had a uniformed police officer come in to claim his pre-ordered copy, the French news agency AFP reported. One shop in the Danish capital told AFP it had never before seen such demand for an English book. The largest English-language bookstore in Paris stocked 3 000 copies of the book and had organised an evening of wizardry and readings before putting the novel on sale at 0100 local time. Even the official French translator, Jean-Francois Menard, did not have a glimpse of the book before Saturday. Working at a rate of about 10 pages a day, he is expected to finish sometime in October, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says. The French translation is due to be published on 3 December. Record-breaker Online retailer Amazon said it had received 1.3 million advance orders worldwide. Some 760 000 of them were placed on the main Amazon.com site. The novel also became the best-selling book in the history of the company's French website, and notched up a record number of pre-release orders on its Japanese site for any book - Japanese or English. In the UK, the novel has become the fastest-selling book ever, according to one chain, while another shop described the levels of demand as "barmy bookselling". Ms Rowling attended the launch of her book in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she said she enjoyed "meeting the children who are reading the books". Quiz Answers Score: 10/10 1: In which languages is JK Rowling's latest book currently being published? You said: only English Yes, that's right. The book is currently only available in English. 2: In which country did they plan to have a 27 hour reading of the book? You said: New Zealand Yes. Well done. The answer is New Zealand. 3: The other Harry Potter books have been translated into 27 languages: true or false? You said: false Yes. The answer is false. The books have been translated into 55 languages. 4: When is the French translator expected to finish his translation work? You said: October 2003 Yes, well done. The correct answer is October 2003, as he did not see a copy of the book until it was released in the UK. 5: More than half of Amazon's orders were placed on its main 'Amazon.com' website: true or false? You said: true Yes, well done. The answer is true: 760 000 is more than half of the 1.3 million copies ordered. 6: Exactly when did the latest Harry Potter book go on sale in Britain? You said: Midnight on 21st June Yes, that's right. The answer is midnight on 21st June. 7: In the text which of these words could replace the word 'release'? You said: publication Yes, congratulations. The correct answer is publication. You could say the 'much hyped publication of the fifth Harry Potter book'. 8: A native language is the language you first learn to speak. True or false? You said: true Yes. The answer is true. A native language is your first language. 9: What is the 'much-guarded secret' in this latest book? You said: one of the characters dies Yes. Well done. The big secret in this book is that one of the characters dies. Do you know who it is? 10: Which word is a conjunction in this sentence: 'In Copenhagen, bookstores stayed open late, while in Hong Kong, they opened early.' You said: while Yes. The answer is while, as it joins two sentences to make one sentence.