A new wave of Beatlemania swept around the world on Wednesday as the Fab Four's digitally remastered albums and a new videogame were released.

Fans queued up from Tokyo to London to get their hands on the rejuvenated and cleaned-up versions of all the legendary British quartet's albums, and the new "The Beatles: Rock Band" game.

"I've been here since 3am. I'm planning to spend $1300 for the boxsets and the game," said Alan Harrington (59), first in the queue at the HMV record store on Oxford Street in central London.

In Japan, eager Beatles fans flooded in all day to the HMV music store in the downtown Ginza shopping district, said a store manager Kozo Shimoda.

"The customers are mainly men in their 40s, and a few in their 30s. They prefer to buy the box set. This year it will probably top the charts."

Five million albums have been shipped to stores across the world, reports said, and retailers are bracing themselves for a new generation of fans eager to snap up copies of the music and game.

The Beatles' company Apple Corps has historically shunned releasing their music in digital formats due to piracy concerns.

But "Rock Band" players will be able to download entire albums in the coming months as the 1960s icons catch up with 21st century technology.

The Beatles' back catalogue was first released on compact disc in 1987, though many fans felt the sound quality did not match the original vinyl, while technological advances since then have highlighted flaws and imperfections.

The new editions include the group's 12 albums, plus the "Magical Mystery Tour" soundtrack and the "Past Masters" releases covering non-album singles.

"The experience of The Beatles is now what it should be," said producer Giles Martin ? son of The Beatle's producer George Martin ? who worked on "Rock Band".

"You can listen to the material in the same way people listened to them in the 60s, if not better.

"It's the single most well-known and beautiful collection of music in the world."

The albums are those released in Britain, and retain the original artwork and track listings.

They also come in two box sets: one in stereo ? selling for about 170 pounds in Britain ? and the other in mono, priced about 200 pounds.

Some analysts are tipping them to dominate the charts around the globe.