Sustainability | Harry Potter series go digital with e-books

The long-awaited launch of the ebook versions could itself bring in many new readers to a series of stories that has already sold 400 million copies around the world and generated a record-breaking movie franchise made by the Warner Bros. studio.

Rowling said Pottermore was about giving something back to her fans around the world, who were among the first to create a large and influential online community. It was also about encouraging people to read more, she added.The free-to-access website, www.pottermore.com, will also feature an "online reading experience" allowing fans to immerse themselves in the world of Potter and his friends through graphics and videos.

The site opens for registration on July 31, the fictional Harry Potter's birthday, and the first million people to register will get early access to the website and the chance to help put the final touches to the experience.The site will open to all users in October.

There are around 18,000 words of new material in the form of background on characters' lives, for example, and the history of the houses at Hogwarts school.The free site allows visitors to become part of the stories by going through the Sorting Hat process, for example, or visiting Diagon Alley to buy anything from wands to potions to help them navigate the magical and "muggle" worlds.

The site only covers the first novel "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone," and the remaining books will be added over time. The storyline of the second book will go live in early 2012.Rowling said she had been working on the project for around two years.

Although closing the door on the Potter series, Rowling did not rule out publishing an encyclopaedia of Potter's world.