Mandarin wizard

Who knew Harry Potter was actually Chinese? Yet there was the boy wizard merrily barking out Mandarin and introducing his latest tale to the planet's largest market of young readers.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fantasy series' fifth instalment, made its Chinese-character debut yesterday, 10 days early because of big demand, its publishers insisted - but also to beat slapdash counterfeit versions to the market.