All papers, both Thai and English, have disappeared fast, leaving many people in Bangkok desperate.

Jaitana Sriwangphol, an executive of FM91 traffic radio, said yesterday that since Friday, almost 10,000 callers have asked the station to provide information about where newspapers still remained.

"We had never been asked such a question before," she said.

Sunun Kunakornpaiboonsiri said she wandered to bookstalls here and there trying to buy up as many newspapers as she could. But many stalls were sold out since early morning, so she paid a newspaper boy to look for copies from all publishers during the past five days. But she managed to get only some of them.

She has also planned to call newspaper offices to ask if she could get some back issues.

"The pictures of each newspaper are so beautiful and priceless," she said.

Karaket Pumaley, 23, an office worker in Lampang, said she has been keeping newspapers with pictures and stories about the Diamond Jubilee for a few months.

"Today, I have to queue at bookstalls to buy some papers. However, I missed some good issues due to the high demand."

Somsak Srisantisuk, 59, a Khon Kaen resident, said every time he saw the King's snapshots on the front page, he always felt delighted and wanted to save them for his family. He believes the pictures will be invaluable keepsakes for the future.

A newspaper seller upcountry said the most popular issue was on June 10 when the King was shown waving to the throngs of well-wishers from the balcony of Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. Those with the bigger pictures were taken first.

"That day's papers were gone in a few hours," he said, adding that the stall had to order about 200 more copies, but that still did not cover demand.

FM91 also reported that about 90 per cent of their call-in audience wanted to have books and VCDs compiling the pictures and recordings of the momentous events.

Rare documentaries featuring the King's past deeds broadcast on Modernine TV a few days ago were a big hit with viewers, who requested the series be offered for sale.