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By Will Sturgeon, 12 January 2005 17:25

NEWS Harry Potter fever is starting to take over the web once again, even though there are still six months to go until the next book is released.

Bloomsbury, the publisher of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and the previous five books in the series, this week acted to close down a scam which was claiming to sell advance e-book versions of the latest tale, scheduled for a 16 July release.

But such deception may only be the tip of the iceberg with Potter fever providing rich pickings for the criminally minded.

Neil Blair, business manager, lawyer and partner in author J K Rowling's worldwide agent the Christopher Little Literary Agency, told silicon.com they are watching the internet closely for any such scams and are taking pro-active steps to cut down on anything which may infringe the intellectual property rights associated with the Harry Potter name and books.

Blair confirmed they anticipate many more problems, such as the fake e-book scam in run-up to the hotly anticipated release of the sixth book.

A number of fan sites dedicated to Potter gossip have also been in overdrive since the announcement of the release date but, as Apple found out recently, fan sites can also attract gossip which borders on the illegal, especially if any trade secrets are divulged.

Previous Harry Potter book The Order of the Phoenix made ecommerce history when it dominated Amazon.co.uk's top 10 bestseller list for most of 2003. Within two hours of its release being announced on 15 January 2003 the book raced to the top of the list on pre-orders alone where is remained until, and way beyond, its actual release on 21 June when the company shipped a staggering 420,000 copies.

Worldwide Amazon received 1.3 million pre-orders for the fifth book in the popular series.

Although that book met with mixed reviews and left many Potter fans disappointed it appears not to have killed off the clamour for the next in the series.

Already The Half Blood Prince is dominating the bestseller list, with pre-orders of the book taking top spot and pre-orders of the 'adult version' - which relates to a more subtle jacket design rather than any sordid content - taking second place.