THE official opening was set at 11am but some customers just could not wait to get inside Borders' new store at Parkway Parade yesterday.

'Some people were trying to sneak in during the private reception from 9.30am and when I went to tell them that, things almost got ugly,'' said Mr Andrew Wong, a spokesman for the bookshop which is owned by the United States-based parent company.

'But I guess it shows how popular the bookstore is,' he says of the second Borders outlet here after the first was opened in Wheelock Place in 1997.

Indeed, by noon - an hour into the opening graced by a lion dance, there were already two long snaking queues at the cashier's counter to take advantage of the 20 per cent storewide discount.

Ms July Goh, 33, had to brave a 15-minute wait to pay for a High School Musical 2 DVD for her daughter but she dismissed the inconvenience as 'expected'.

Just like the Orchard store, the Parkway one stocks books, magazines and CDs. At 17,000 sq ft, the new branch is half the size of the branch at Wheelock Place, a fact which drew mixed reactions from shoppers.

Said policeman Mohamad Suhaini Mohamad Yatim, 49, who came from Tampines: 'I prefer Wheelock because it has more space and it's easier to move about but I'll still come here because it's nearer to my home.'

But Ms Jangsee Foo, 40, a trading executive, said: 'The one at Wheelock is too big for me. The service here is better because the smaller space makes it more personable.'

The first-day crowd also included Mr Sukmajay Aminnuddin and Ms Deeyana Firoz, who are both aged 20 and work at the Borders outlet at Wheelock Place.

Ms Deeyana particularly noted that the kids section 'is a lot bigger than the one at Wheelock and there are a lot more shelves for children's books. They even have tables and chairs for kids to sit and read'.

'Even though this place is small, I think you can find basically anything that the Orchard branch has,' she said.

Mr Wong told Life! that within the first five hours of operation, Borders at Parkway Parade already saw 5,000 visitors. When Borders at Wheelock Place first opened, there were only 10,000 visitors on its first day.