JK Rowling has launched legal action against a US newspaper after it allegedly published a sneak preview of the new Harry Potter book on the internet.

The author's lawyers said they were suing the paper for allegedly posting details of the eagerly-awaited fifth novel about the boy wizard on its internet edition.

"American lawyers are today filing a suit for damages in respect of the US print publication, and together we are coordinating an immediate legal response," the lawyers said in a statement.

Ms Rowling's lawyers alleged that as the article could be seen in Britain through the internet it had broken an injunction banning any unauthorised advance publication of the book in the UK.

Merseyside police are hunting thieves who stole a lorry packed with 7,680 copies of the book from a trading estate at Newton-le-Willows on Sunday night.

The US publishers have printed a record 8.5 million copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book already has advance sales of over a million in America.

Source: Press Release