Austrian author Thomas Brezina visited China last week for a third time to sign his books, which are popular among young Chinese readers, ranking only after those by J K Rowling in the foreign writers' category.

The 52-year-old visited in 2003 and 2007. But on his latest trip, he was still surprised to see readers' enthusiasm.

His books have been translated into more than 35 languages, and 13 books from his popular series, The Tiger Team, have already been published in Chinese.

Three of his new books from the same series - Demon in the Wonderful Lamp, Serpentine Fish and Lighthouse on the Ghost Cliff - were launched in Chinese on Friday.

The US fast-food giant KFC brought 1.65 million copies before the official release to give as gifts to those who ordered their children's set menus.

As a result, a large group of young readers flooded the restaurant's outlet in Beijing's Fangzhuang area to get Brezina's latest books and to meet the author on Thursday.

The Tiger Team series sold more than 4 million copies in 2003, when it was first published in China. Since then, Brezina has had a steady following of Chinese young readers.

During the book-signing event last week, children played games with the author, based on characters and plots from his stories.

The young audience also asked him questions: "Are there monsters under the water in the real world?" "Is your country beautiful?"

According to the author, children are very similar the world over - they want to discover things, seek adventure and prove themselves. They are "curious, grateful and interesting", he says.

"I always want to write books for children. They see the world through much more positive eyes than we do," Brezina says. "They play, and they experience ... I want to encourage them to discover the world."

Brezina thanks his young readers for liking his books. After all, he spends a lot of time alone writing them.

[email protected]