The Star Wars movies are among the most popular ever made

Internet retailer Amazon received more than 85,000 pre-orders for The Star Wars Trilogy, beating the 50,000 high of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

"Fans have been waiting for this for a long time, so we knew there would be a lot of interest," a spokesperson said.

Supermarket Tesco estimated it would sell 500,000 box sets in the first week, beating its Two Towers record.

Price battle

Star Wars, made in 1977, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983) have never been legally available on DVD until now, despite being some of the most popular movies in cinema history.

Each film has been digitally remastered and their creator George Lucas updated some scenes for the release.

High demand has led to a price battle between online and high street stores, with many retailers disregarding the recommended retail price of �44.99.

Lucas revived the series in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, the first in a prequel trilogy set years before the events in the original Star Wars.

The second film, Attack of the Clones, followed in 2002, with third prequel Revenge of the Sith due in cinemas in May 2005.