Harry Potter 'hate-line' launched

The Harry Potter books have been a worldwide sensation

VIENNA, Austria -- Those less than tickled by the magical adventures of schoolboy wizard Harry Potter are being offered the opportunity to get things off their chest.

A telephone service in Austria is offering those sick of hearing about the world-conquering wizard the opportunity to call up to vent their spleen about the bespectacled orphan.

The "Anti-Harry Potter Hotline" invites callers to air their hatred for the boy with the zig-zag scar whose image adorns everything from bubble bath to computer games.

"Get it off your chest, tell us how much you hate Harry Potter," a recorded message tells callers, before asking them to leave their tirades after the tone.

The hotline's founder, Alois Gmeiner, plans to collect callers' messages and publish them in a book dedicated to undermining the popularity of the magical hero.

"Its the hype surrounding Harry Potter that gets on my nerves," Gmeiner was quoted as saying by Austrian news agency APA.

The first of author J.K. Rowling's books about Potter's adventures -- "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" -- was recently turned into a box-office busting movie.