Dan Brown's Inferno Upsets Philippines

Dan Brown's description of Manila as "the gates of hell" in his new novel Inferno has provoked anger in the Philippines.

The plot of his latest work includes a character who is visiting the capital, and while doing so is shocked by the poverty, crime and sex trade.

Brown's vivid description of the city has incurred an angry response from the Philippines, where the book is also on sale.

The chairman of metropolitan Manila, Francis Tolentino, wrote an open letter to Brown, saying while Inferno is fiction "we are greatly disappointed by your inaccurate portrayal of our beloved metropolis".

Mr Tolentino said he objected to the "gates of hell" description, and to the descriptions of poverty and pollution in the city, which he argues neglect the "good character and compassion" of Filipinos.

Inferno is the fourth in Brown's Robert Langdon series, after Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol.

His huge success as a writer is often attributed to his recurring themes of keys, symbols, codes and conspiracy theories.

Brown's books have been translated into 52 languages, and as of 2012 have sold over 200 million copies.

Two of them, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, have been adapted into films.

Inferno soared to the top of the UK book chart in its first week in the shops, selling 228,961 copies, which was no surprise as it had had the highest number of pre-orders since JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy.

However, it has not been a hit with critics who often centre on Brown's "clumsy writing".