He's cute, cuddly, 6in tall, is going to be all you'll hear about this Christmas - and a certain Mrs Furby loves him and wants to take hime home!

Far from wanting to throttle the manufacturers of the much-hyped Furby toy, Linda Furby is lapping up the unexpected attention - and now wants one herself!

She said: "I think we should be the first to receive one as they've been named after us!

"I actually think they're cute but I can't get hold of them anywhere."

The 44-year-old, of Priory Road, Littlemore, first became aware of the Furby phenomenon when she was ribbed about her name at work - after Furby was featured in the Oxford Mail.

The mum of two, who works as a contracts manager at Unipart in Cowley, said: "The security man said I was famous when I turned up and asked me if I had seen myself in the Oxford Mail.

"He then told me I was Furby-lous! I thought 'What's he on about?' and didn't take any notice. "Then my ex-husband phoned me at home and said did I realise we were famous?

"It was then I went out and bought the paper to see what all the fuss was about."

She added: "At first, I thought 'what a cheek choosing our name'. I've always liked my surname and knew I'd get a lot of stick about it. "But, I must admit, I'm quite enjoying all the attention now. After all, it's better than being called Mrs Teletubby!"

She continued: "I'd really like to get hold of one myself but they don't seem to stock enough of them in the shops.

"They are like Gremlins and I bought one of them. I even called my Yorkshire Terrier Gizmo because he looks like a Gremlin!"

Linda added that her daughter Alison, 23, has also caught the Furby bug but neither has been able to buy one. The Furby has a 200-word and 800-phrase vocabulary and speaks its own language, Furbish, as well as English.

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

Linda said: "I imagine there are other people called Furby out there who aren't amused by this. But I think we may as well have a laugh about it."

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

*Furbys can purr, wink, giggle, dance and sing, and synchronise their mouth movements with everything they say and do

*Furbys are designed to interact with other Furbys

*Furbys are a life-long commitment. Even when batteries need changing, Furbys will remember everything they have been taught

*When Furbys really like someone they will say 'I love you'.

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