• by Masha Geller , November 9, 2001

Not that it should surprise anyone, but Nielsen//NetRatings reports that surfers at-home flocked to the official website of the Harry Potter movie, set to première next Friday.

During the six weeks ending November 4, traffic to the Harry Potter site skyrocketed 239% to 573,000 unique visitors, as compared to 169,000 surfers for the week ending September 23. Traffic to the site continued to grow this past week, jumping 47% from 390,000 visitors the previous week ending October 28.

"The 'Harry Potter' book series has translated very favorably online, with television and in-theatre promotions fueling traffic to the website. The site offers surfers a sneak peak at how the book is being adapted for film," said Jarvis Mak, senior Internet analyst, NetRatings. "Special animation and interactive games showcased on the site are working to build enthusiasm and loyalty among younger surfers."

More than 32% of the site's audience visited pages featuring an interactive game allowing surfers to enroll in classes with Harry Potter at the mythical Hogwart's School for Wizzards. Nearly 30% of the site's surfers visited the page featuring the "Daily Prophet," an online newsletter featuring descriptions of the movie's characters and streaming video of the official movie trailer.

Females comprised 63% of the site's audience, while males accounted for more than 37%. Twenty-one percent of the site's audience fell between the ages of 2 and 11, with 338% more children visiting the Harry Potter website as compared to the average Web audience.