Leaked Harry Potter spotted online
Updated on 19 July 2007
Fans unable to contain their excitement over the release of the new Harry Potter novel have been downloading a pirate version from the internet.
The publisher Bloomsbury has reportedly invested millions of pounds in security to keep Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows the book secure until the official release date at midnight on Saturday.
But users of the file sharing service Bittorrent have managed to find files purporting to be copies of the book online, from links listed by the Swedish site The Pirate Bay.
Farhad Manjoo, writer of the Machinist blog on Salon.com, claims to have successfully downloaded an entire copy of the book. It takes the form of a collection of photographs of each of the book's pages, rather than a conventional electronic book, but it appears to be genuine.
A spokesperson for Bloomsbury said they were aware of the stories, but would not confirm whether they were true.
"We are not confirming or denying individual postings but there is a lot of stuff out there claiming to be the new book that isn't.
"All we are saying is that the only way people will find out what happens at the end is to buy the book when it comes out."
