hot Christmas toy this year, the Furby Doll.

Following in the wake of Barbie, GI Joe, Hot Wheels, Cabbage Patch dolls, and last year's monster hit the Tamagochi, Furby's have already caused mob behaviour in the US.

The toy department's manager, Tom Nelmes, said he placed a large order at a convention last February right after seeing the dolls on sight.

"You just have to look at him,'' he said yesterday. "It will be the top toy this Christmas. It's very contagious. It's extraordinarily animated and can be taught up to 200 words.'' He added: "The little people are going to go wild over them. There are so many good toys out there, but these are going to be huge.'' Mr. Nelmes said the toy's manufacturer had production problems and was not able to meet the demand worldwide and local kids were very lucky to get access to the toy.

Furby's can blink, talk, sneeze, wiggle and exhibit emotions, and are otherwise very cuddly and have been the subject of numerous media reports over the past few months.

"Our initial order was cut back substantially but it was a large order,'' he said. "We still have quite a few. We wanted to give everyone a fair opportunity to come and get one.'' Mr. Nelmes added that he thought there was another local company who had Furby's on sale but said the Phoenix would have a more "substantial inventory''.

The Furby's retail for $79.95.