It's a toy lovers playground at the ExCel exhibition center in London as the 2009 Toy Fair gets underway.

The fair is now in its 56th year. It gives manufacturers a chance to showcase the latest toys before they hit the stores.

The toy industry is worth four billion US dollars in the UK.

The market weathered a 2 percent fall in 2008, but Natasha Crookes of the British Toy and Hobby Association says the volume of sales actually increased by 7 percent and by 12 percent over the Christmas season.