Harry Potter to weave magic in China

BEIJING, China -- The literary wizard hero Harry Potter is set to cast the biggest spell over China since Mao.

About 600,000 copies of the first three books in JK Rowling's smash hit series are to go on sale in Communist China, the biggest number since publication of the former leader's Little Red Book around 50 years ago.

The Little Red Book was the bible for Communists, setting out Mao Zedong's philosophy, and waved enthusiastically by young Chinese during rallies.

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But first Harry Potter, who has vanquished trolls and goblins with his magic wand in the children's books so loved by adults, has to fight off Chinese pirates who are flooding the market with fake copies ahead of the official launch date of October 12.

Pirates are estimated to have printed at least 5,000 fake copies after they were discovered on the shelves of Beijing bookshops.

Publishers, the state-run People's Literature Publishing House, said it was forced to bring forward the date of release as a result by a week to October 6.

The authentic books have been printed in pale green covers to try and distinguish them from the copies.

A set of the three books, the Sorcerer's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban, will go on sale for 68 yuan (£5.60).

The Beijing Evening News published an article warning consumers about the fake books and showed photographs of the genuine and bootleg copies, which have mostly been translated independently.

The publisher's problems did not end there as they had to overcome translating difficulties including wizardry words such as quidditch, a sport combining hockey and rugby played on broomsticks, and muggles, humans.

"It was very challenging to find the right words to translate it, but I am confident that it will appeal to a Chinese audience," a spokesman for the publishing house said. The British author's first three books have sold more than 30 million copies and have been translated into 31 languages.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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