The J.K. Rowling Albert Hall appearance will be webcast hither and yon.

J.K. Rowling [will read] from the next Harry Potter adventure at the Royal Albert Hall on June 26, and [do] a live interview about the book that will be broadcast simultaneously on the Internet, organizers said Tuesday.

At the event, hosted by actor Stephen Fry, Rowling will read from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" - which is to be published June 21 - before taking questions about junior wizard H. Potter from members of the audience and through the Internet.

British Telecom is sponsoring the webcast and Microsoft is hosting the online event at www.msn.co.uk/harrypotter.

....The Web cast, which is free, begins at noon EDT. Microsoft said it has the potential to reach children in 34 countries in 18 different languages.

Before the event, children are invited to submit their questions about Harry to the Web site. Fry will put the best questions to J.K. Rowling live on the night. A number of questions will also be taken live from the Internet during the webcast and fed through to the author during the event.

Harry fans will also have the chance to win bookplates signed by the author.

The webcast will be archived for seven days after the event so fans can watch it again. [AP]

So what are you waiting for? Order it now.