In a move reminiscent of the demand that engulfed Mel Gibson's ThePassion Of The Christearlier this year, the US distributors of Fahrenheit 9/11 have set up a freephone number andwebsite to handle group and advance ticket sales.

The toll-free number for the group sales programme began operatingon Jun 7, advising callers which theatres in their area will screen MichaelMoore's Palme D'Or winner and providing group sales ticket information.

As of yesterday (10) advance tickets were available online at www.f911tix.com, while ticketing servicesFandango and Movietickets have also made preparations for advance sales ontheir websites.

Moore's documentary, which among other things trains its sights onthe links between President George W Bush and Saudi families including that ofOsama bin Laden, is due to be released on Jun 25 through the FellowshipAdventure Group, Lions Gate and IFC Films.

When the online trailer was posted on Jun 3, it allegedly receivedmore than 30m hits. Since then it has received more than 20m hits a day.

"The online activity the trailer generated was unlike anythingI've ever witnessed," Lions Gate Films Releasing president Tom Ortenberg saidin a statement.

"Given the intensity of the response, we felt it was important tocreate a dedicated ticket sales programme for moviegoers. We wanted to makeinformation and tickets available quickly - and fortunately we were able tomake it happen."

Pay TV rightswill be handled by Showtime, Lions Gate's pay-TV partner.