Potter makes history as fastest-selling book

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - The seventh and final volume in the Harry Potter series has become the fastest selling book in history, publishers said on Monday, with more than 11 million copies sold during the first 24 hours in three markets alone.

U.S. sales of the eagerly awaited "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" hit 8.3 million, comfortably beating the previous Potter instalment, which posted sales of 6.9 million copies in the first day, U.S. publisher Scholastic announced.

In Britain, Bloomsbury sold a record 2.7 million copies of the final Potter book in the first 24 hours, up from 2.0 million for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".

The same company also announced nearly 400,000 copies of the English language edition of J.K. Rowling's story were bought in Germany over the same period.

Thousands of Potter fans queued outside book stores in major cities around the world over the weekend to get hold of the book, which answers the questions on every reader's lips -- 'Who dies at the end?' and in particular, 'Does Harry survive?'

In India, police said on Monday they seized hundreds of pirated copies of the cover of "Deathly Hallows" after raiding a printing press, storage depot and private home in Bangalore.

Internet versions of the book also surfaced last week and two U.S. newspapers ran reviews before publication, but it was not enough to dampen enthusiasm for the last chapter of the boy wizard's increasingly bloody fight against the forces of evil.

Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, likened the weekend excitement in the United States to the hysteria that greeted the Beatles' first visit to the country.