Halo 3 achieved record US sales of $170m (£83.6m/€119.8) within its first 24 hours on sale, Microsoft claimed today, boasting the figure makes its game the "biggest entertainment launch in history", eclipsing records set by the Spider-man 3 and Harry Potter movies.

Bill Gates, software sales assistant, Seattle

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The company also claimed that 1.7m Halo 3 copies were pre-ordered in the US, which also makes it the fastest selling computer game in history, it alleged. Ironically, Halo 3 snatched this title from its predecessor Halo 2.

Winning both titles will be good news for Microsoft's front-man, Bill Gates, who took a brief break from counting his money to shake hands with Halo 3 fans as they received their copies of the game at a launch event in Seattle.

Microsoft hasn't released any statistics on the number of scratched discs received by gamers, despite the global launch being marred by reports of Halo 3 Limited Edition set discs coming loose inside their packaging.

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