Terracotta army takes on King Tut

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As the British Museum's exhibition on the First Emperor of China and his terracotta warriors opens today, approaching 150,000 people have already booked their place at one of the blockbuster shows of the autumn.

And on the first day of public sales for the Tutankhamun exhibition which opens at the 02 in November, 60,000 people have signed up to see the treasures of Egypt which were last seen in the UK more than 30 years ago.

A British Museum spokeswoman said: "We're expecting it to be busy, but it does go on until April so there are plenty of opportunities to come and see it."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is one of the first to have seen the exhibition of treasures from the burial tombs of the First Emperor.

He was one of the star guests, alongside a mixed bag of visitors including actor Sir Antony Sher and artist Grayson Perry, at the official opening reception on Tuesday night.

Film crews from America and almost every country in Europe have reported on the unprecedented loan of the terracotta warriors which have captured the international imagination.

Mr Brown described it as "a great day for Britain" and "a gift across continents".

However, some critics believe visitors may be disappointed that London will be seeing only a handful of the warriors and other figures buried in Xi'an more than 2,000 years ago.

A spokesman for the Tutankhamun show said 190,000 had reserved places at the exhibition even before booking opened this week.