THE Pokmon craze is sweeping playgrounds across East Lancashire as children become obsessed with watching cartoons and collecting cards featuring creatures like Pikachu. Cleverly marketed -- without a single advert -- cards, sticker books, toys and computer games are flying off shop shelves everywhere. The little Japanese pocket monsters may have started a worldwide phenomenon -- but what is the attraction? VICTORIA EGLINGTON reports.

THE success of the Pokmon brand, which is owned by Nintendo, is built around the story of a young boy who wants to become the best Pokmon trainer in the world.

There are eight known master trainers in the world that the young hero must defeat to realise his dream and his success depends on his ability to train and do battle using the Pokemon he has collected through his journey.

In total there are 151 Pokmon characters, each with unique abilities, and the aim of Pokemon is to collect, swap and teach your Pokmon battle techniques.

Each character has its own super-cool name and some of the best known, like Pikachu, Meowth and Charmander, are already cult heroes in their own right.

With the catchphrase "Gotta Catch 'Em All," children are going crazy for the cards and computer games. There are about 140 characters on the game, so youngsters have to link their game consoles to others, using a special cable, to collect the remaining Pokmon.

But unlike the marble and sticker crazes of old, Pokmon comes with a 21st century price tag -- packs of six cards cost £2.50, card booster packs are £7.50, Pokmon Monopoly is £30 and a colour Gameboy with a Pokmon cartridge costs £90. A spokesman for Berkshire-based Wizards of the Coast, which launched the Pokmon Trading Card Game League, said that printing presses were rolling as fast as possible to meet with demands from shops across the country.

But a threat has overshadowed the innocent craze. Counterfeit cards have been flooding the market because supplies are so short. Manchester has already been swamped with fake cards -- leaving devoted youngsters devastated.

The counterfeits were uncovered during the Pokmon Trading Card Game Tour, which visited the Trafford Centre in Manchester, earlier this month.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph has joined up with Wizards of the Coast to give parents and children the definitive guide to spotting hoax merchandise.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Pokmon fans should be aware that illegal counterfeit Pokmon trading cards are being sold in the UK, along with overpriced imported products. We are working closely with Trading Standards and our legal teams to stamp this out. It's not always easy to tell the real ones from the fakes, but there are a few things you can do to make sure you are buying or trading the authentic cards."

COUNTERFEIT GAME CHECKLIST

Make sure that you always buy authentic products, which are in sealed, plastic wrapped starter kits and pre-constructed theme decks or booster packs from reputable stores; Look at the packaging. It is fake if it is faded, does not bear a Pokmon logo or the text is blurry;

Packaging that states Made in China is fake.

COUNTERFEIT CARD CHECKLIST

Use the light test. Hold the card up to the light. If you can see light through it then it is a counterfeit. Fake cards are thinner, lighter, bend more easily and will let light through.

Some new counterfeit cards can pass the light test, but have poor quality colouring and a waxy feel compared to authentic cards.

Counterfeit cards will stand out in a stack of legitimate cards because they are usually a different height and weight.

Cards that say Made in China are fake.

The man behind the most popular figures ever is Satoshi Tajiri, a reclusive fortysomething who devised the game in an attempt to recapture his childhood days as a fanatical collector of insects. It started as a purely selfish indulgence but he has unleashed a beast.

Supermarket giant Tesco has hired seven-year-old Laurie Sleator, of Hertfordshire, to explain the Pokmon craze to senior executives and in return he is given merchandise. There are 60,000 websites dedicated to Pokmon and it has become the third most searched-for item on the Internet. Pokmon: The First Movie, which was released three weeks ago, has become one of the largest grossing films ever and the industry is worth £6 billion a year.

Nintendo is now planning to introduce at least 100 more characters, which means more trading cards, more games and more cartoons, making it virtually impossible to "Catch 'Em All".

Anyone with any queries about counterfeit cards or has purchased fake cards should contact the Wizards of the Coast customer service line on 0345 125599.

Picture shows Daniel Richards, 10, of Burnley, with his card collection.