HARRY POTTER - ROWLING MAKES $36 MILLION IN A DAY

HARRY POTTER author JK ROWLING has added another $36 million (GBP20 million) to her fortune - only 24 hours after the sixth book of the boy wizard series went on sale.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE hit the shelves at one minute past midnight on Saturday (16JUL05) to queues of ecstatic fans, and has already sold two million copies by closing time today (17JUL05).

When the last book, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, was released in 2003, the rags-to-riches British author sold 1.7 million copies in the UK and 7 million in the US.

But her latest magical adventure is predicted to exceed all previous records, with publishing experts expecting worldwide sales in excess of 10 million.

An insider says, "All estimates are that this book will be even bigger than the last one. I think we should expect 2 million sales in Britain on the day of publication."