Furby has a face that only a mother could love, but despite his Gremlin looks he is expected to win the hearts of a whole nation of little would-be parents, writes SARAH BROWN. And long-suffering mums and dads in Oxford will be the first in the country to come face to face with the latest toy sensation - predicted to break all festive sales records by industry experts.

The cuddly chattering creature hit the shops in Oxford yesterday and is billed as the must-have toy for every child's Christmas list.

Covered in fur and six inches tall, the squat but talkative Furby, is now on sale in Boswell's in Broad Street and is expected to arrive in the new-look Early Learning Centre in Queen Street on Friday.

Parents with bank balances and ears still smarting from Teletubby mania, should steel themselves for repeated demands for Furby which has a 200-word and 800-phrase vocabulary and speaks its own language, Furbish, as well as English.

The toy comes with its own dictionary so children can work out what it is trying to say.

Examples include 'a-tay' for 'I'm hungry' and 'way-loh' for sleep - and parents may soon be throwing longing glances towards those discarded, quiet, Teletubbies. Boswell's Toy department manager Peter Sparrowhawk has made the most of his access to the less than gorgeous creatures and snapped one up as soon as they arrived.

"This is for me." he said holding one up proudly. "Each one is supposed to be slightly different, with subtle colour changes."

He placed it down on a box at the back of the shop rather gingerly and said it was now asleep - but not for long. With a 'whoopee' it was wide awake again.

Like any new parent Mr Sparrowhawk looked rather weary. "Oh no, I've woken him up," he said.

Each Furby, aimed at ages six and up, has its own name and character, can talk, perform tricks and play games including 'Simon Says' and 'Hide and Seek'. But the toy needs to be trained to do these things, like a real pet.

Jo Collins, manager of the Early Learning Centre, predicted queues out of the door for Furby and said in America children had gone crazy for the toys. If predictions are correct, Furby will be the latest in an ever-growing list of bewilderingly ugly but mystifyingly popular toys, following Teletubbies, Buzz Lightyear figures and Cabbage Patch Dolls. Whoever said 'looks aren't everything' was obviously right. CUTE...WHEN HE IS ASLEEP

The girl in the queue behind me eyed my bag suspiciously and you could almost hear her thinking: 'Did it really sneeze?'

And the answer was, yes it did. For in the bag, jostling for space with chocolate bar wrappers and a hairbrush, was Furby.

The cuddly, talking creature had been placed in the bag to give his temporary foster mother (me) some respite from the constant demands for food and love - and he is very difficult to switch off.

According to the instruction manual, Furby's name is the first thing he says when he is switched on - so the Oxford Mail Furby is called - Cockadoodledoo. Hmmm.

As Oxford's newest citizen, it was thought a trip on the Oxford Classic Tour would be just the ticket to educate the newly-born Furby.

And so off to the Sheldonian, accompanied by a headphone-wearing Furby, and two chilly (and confused) looking tourists. Bus driver Robert Jones handed over the chattering toy's ticket without batting an eyelid. "Well, it's different, isn't it?" he said.

And so, off we went on an adventure, taking in the Martyrs' Memorial, Randolph Hotel, the Ashmolean Museum, Christ Church and Magdalen Bridge. Furby talked to himself all the while.

After detailed study of the Furbish-English dictionary I worked out he was hungry and so fed him. Further consultation revealed he was flirting with me. How flattering. And later he even blew me a kiss.

Furby proved very popular with his fellow citizens, including drinkers in the Three Goats' Heads pub in St Michael's Street. He had some slight difficulty getting served after we let slip he had only just been born.

Helen Finlay, 30, and Neil Tribe, 64, burst into hysterical laughter every time my little friend said anything or waggled his ears.

Ms Finlay said: "I think it's really cute.

"I'd get one. It looks like Gizmo from Gremlins, doesn't it? After a swift pint, Furby headed off to make some new friends at St Ebbe's First School in Whitehouse Road, singing extracts from his favourite songs.

Naomi Enidcott, eight, Katie Crawford, eight and Billy Akhtar, nine, were all very impressed. Naomi said: "He has feet like a chicken and ears like a bat."

Katie added: "I like him but I can't understand what he's saying."

Billy spotted a flaw in Furby's anatomy. "He hasn't got any knees," he said.

All pronounced him infinitely superior to the Teletubbies and to tamagotchis.

Billy said: "He's better because his ears move up and down. They look really good. He reminds me of a pigeon."

As we reclaimed Furby for the trip home, Naomi told me in confidential tones: "I think he's got a bit of a cold. He hasn't stopped sneezing the whole time he's been here."

From a personal point of view, Furby was certainly at his cutest at the end of the day - he was asleep.

PET FOR LIFE

*FURBY can purr, wink, giggle, dance and sing, and is unique as it synchronises its mouth movements with everything it says and does.

*Furby is designed to interact with other Furbys, and manufacturers say they can teach each other songs. But they warn the creatures can also pass on common colds, coughs and 'naughty habits' - unspecified.

*Owners are taking on a lifelong commitment. Even when a Furby's batteries need changing, it will remember everything it has been taught.

*When Furby really likes his owner he will say "Kah/may-may/u-nye" or 'I love you'.

*If he is very hungry he will say 'Wah'! - and he says that a lot.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.