Authorities in Russia are launching an inquiry into claims the Harry Potter books discredit Christianity.

The Moscow prosecutor's office is investigating a complaint that Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets "promotes witchcraft and discredits the Orthodox faith".

The Prosecutor Office's senior officer is studying whether the book violates Article 282 of the Criminal Code, which deals with instigation of ethnic, racial or religious enmity.

Anyone convicted of violating the Article faces up to five years in prison.

A spokesman for Rowling's Russian publishers described the claims as "absurd".

"Claims of Satanism are absolute nonsense," she told the Moscow Times.