Online book shop Amazon says there are more pre-orders per head of population in Wallingford than any other place in the country.

The schoolboy wizard has certainly worked his magic on the local children, as hundreds of fans have already ordered their copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The eagerly-awaited seventh and final book in JK Rowling's bestselling series will be released on Saturday, July 21.

According to the web-based book store, Faringdon is the third ranked town for Potter fans behind Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire.

Young fans from Fir Tree Junior School, in Radnor Road, Wallingford, have all read the six other Harry Potter books and seen the blockbuster films starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Harry himself is the hero for Aaron Oliver, 10, who prefers the books to the films. Harry's brainy sidekick Hermione Granger, played in the films by Emma Watson, from Oxford, is the favourite for Abi Millsom, 10, Megan Prince, nine, and Martha Vavoulas, 10, while Sam Preece, 10, most likes reading about Harry's sinister teacher Prof Snape.

Multi-millionaire author JK Rowling has dropped hints that a major character will die in the final book, leading to speculation that Harry might be killed off.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has already set a record by becoming the first ever book to reach global pre-orders of one million over the Internet. Pre-orders in the UK alone have topped 250,000.

Publisher Bloomsbury is expecting sales of more than three million copies in the first 24 hours after the book is released.

This would beat the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which sold two million in a day in 2005.

Christopher North, UK head of books at Amazon, said: "The postmen in Wallingford are certainly going to be busy July 21."