Harry Potter Immortalised on Postage Stamps

Scottish author JK Rowling has had her popular Hogwarts characters immortalised on postage stamps in France.

The collection of ten stamps featuring Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, were unveiled at La Fete du Timbre et de l'Ecrit 2007 (Festival of Stamps and Writing), which runs for the month of March in 118 cities and villages around France.

The release of the stamps comes during the build up to the next Harry Potter instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is due for release on July 21st. The stamps are the result of collaboration between Warner Bros. Consumer Products and La Poste, the French Postal.

"To be immortalized on a postal stamp ranks among the highest of honours," said Brad Globe, WB Consumer Products supremo.

The Harry stamp can be used for domestic priority mail, the Ron Weasley stamp for slow domestic mail, and the Hermione Granger stamp for international mail.

The Harry Potter images will also appear on other stationary material, such as Harry Potter writing paper, a correspondence kit and a stamp album.

The stamps will only be available for a limited time from participating post offices in France. They cost 6.18 Euros (£4.20).