The family says that the makers of The Kite Runner believe the measure is necessary for their own safety.

The New York Times newspaper says Paramount Vantage is arranging for three families to go and live abroad, and is delaying the film's release.

It has run into controversy in Afghanistan, where most of it is set.

Written in 2003 by the Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini, the book spans the years from the pre-war Kabul of the 1970s to the brutality of the Taleban era.

It deals with poignant themes such as exile, a son's longing to please his father and - above all - friendship and betrayal between two boys, the novel's central characters.

Psychopathic bully

But according to the New York Times, the film's release has now been delayed by six weeks.

That is because of unforeseen controversy over its central scene - the rape of a boy who is Amir the narrator's best friend and his servant - by a psychopathic bully.

Contacted by the BBC, Ahmad Jaan Mahmidzada - whose son Ahmad Khan plays Hassan the raped servant - confirmed that his family is leaving later this month for the United Arab Emirates, with all expenses paid by the film company.

He would not elaborate.

Ahmad Khan with father Ahmad Jaan

But in an earlier BBC interview, Mr Mahmidzada said he feared a violent reaction in Afghanistan to The Kite Runner's rape scene, in which Hassan, who comes from the subjugated Hazara ethnic group, is raped by an older bully from the dominant Pashtuns.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7028288.stm