Rowling in global Harry Potter webcast

The magic of Hogwarts will meet the wonder of the web when JK Rowling gives a live reading of her feverishly anticipated fifth Harry Potter novel on the internet.

The webcast later this month is expected to be one of the biggest events of its kind.

It will be broadcast via the MSN network in partnership with BT and filmed by Big Brother producer Endemol.

Rowling will give a reading from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and will take questions from children around the world at the event, which will take place at the Royal Albert Hall and be hosted by Stephen Fry.

MSN broadcast an exclusive Madonna gig live from Brixton Academy three years ago, generating huge amounts of publicity and interest.

It claimed 9 million internet users logged on but only a small proportion were able to watch the star in action because the servers had trouble coping with the demand.

The Potter event will take place on June 26, five days after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is published.

"This is an example of the web doing more than television could ever do - beaming out a hugely anticipated event directly to a worldwide audience, free of charge," said Peter Cowley, the director of interactive media at Endemol.

Questions will be taken live during the webcast, which will be streamed at four speeds from 56k to 500k.

More than 900 schools have applied for tickets to the event, which will only be able to hold 4,000 children.

The webcast will reach children in 34 countries and 18 different languages.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the most pre-ordered book in publishing history.

Tracy Blacher, the marketing manager of MSN, said: "There isn't a venue in the world that could host the millions of Harry fans desperate to experience the magic of this event. This is what the web should be about."