Harry Potter gets stamp of approval

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) After weaving his magic with best-selling books and blockbuster films, Harry Potter is hoping to cast a spell over stamp collectors.

J K Rowling's schoolboy wizard will feature on seven first class stamps to be released in July.

The Royal Mail's Head of Special Stamps Julietta Edgar said the collection will use artwork from the Bloomsbury editions of the seven Harry Potter books.

The bespectacled hero appears with an array of dragons, the Hogwarts Express train and his flying Ford Anglia.

A five-stamp miniature sheet featuring the Hogwarts school crest and those of its four houses will also be available.

They go on sale on July 17, four days before the publication of the seventh and final book: ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''.

REUTERS SYU VV1008