Chorion, the company that owns the rights to Noddy, has developed two packages - Learn English with Noddy and Noddy Early Learning - to help children learn the language.

The rights deals, for Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia, are earning the company �1m and the packages are expected to go on sale next year.

Chorion has predicted it will earn further significant revenues both from these markets and from other international territories.

Universal appeal

The character has global recognition - Enid Blyton's original Noddy books have been translated into 40 languages and more than two million Noddy books are sold worldwide every year.

The English as a Foreign Language (EFL) market is a multi-billion dollar industry which, in Japan alone, is estimated to be worth $2bn (�1.6bn).

There is increasing demand for programmes that can introduce spoken English to pre-school and primary age children.

Most existing products are not character-based, but Noddy is an easily recognised children's favourite.

Back to school

Chorion chief executive Nicholas James said: "Enid Blyton, a school teacher herself, believed that children should learn through having fun.

"Noddy makes the learning experience more fun for children, thereby increasing the educational value of the character for parents and children," he added.

Gillian Baverstock, Enid Blyton's daughter, said her mother would have been delighted.