Harry Potter Stamps

Tuesday, July 17th 2007, 12:00 pm

By: News On 6

LONDON (AP) _ Britain issued a series of seven postage stamps depicting the covers of the best-selling Harry Potter books Tuesday, days before the final volume in the series goes on sale.

The Royal Mail said about 340,000 people had pre-ordered the stamps _ breaking the record of 300,000 pre-orders set by a series of Beatles stamps released in January.

The Royal Mail also released five stamps featuring the crests of the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and its houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Online, fans can personalize the stamps, placing their picture alongside the crest of their favorite house.

The stamps will be on sale at 40,000 British post offices for the next month and online for a year.

``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' goes on sale in Britain at midnight Saturday.

Rowling's fantasy series about a boy wizard has sold more than 325 million copies worldwide. She has said two major characters will die in the final book, which is being released under tight security.