The US Christmas shopping season begins in earnest on Black Friday

Some bargain hunters started queuing up during Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday

US stores hope a blitz of promotions will lure shoppers hit by higher borrowing costs and a housing market slowdown

Many stores, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, opened at 5am, while others opened at midnight

Savvy shoppers checked for bargains first before beginning their Black Friday shop

Nintendo's Wii console is high on the list for Christmas shoppers