Legend is the seventh Tomb Raider game

Lara Croft creators worked to revive the game's reputation after the previous version, Angel of Darkness, was critically panned.

The new adventure has already sold three times the number sold by The Godfather, which holds second place.

Its success may be partly attributed to its release on several formats.

Legend is available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox and PC. A version for the PlayStation Portable is also in the works.

Record heroine

It is the seventh title to be released in the Tomb Raider series, which originally launched in 1996.

Lara Croft has leapt into the record books

It is one of the best selling video game franchises of all time, with more than 28 million copies sold.

The Tomb Raider brand was badly damaged by the last game in the series, Angel of Darkness, which was widely criticised for being virtually unplayable.

Lara Croft publisher Eidos handed over the making of the game to US developers, Crystal Dynamics, in an effort to give it fresh development and avoid the failures of Angel of Darkness.

"Tomb Raider legend is the fastest selling game of 2006 because it is such great fun to play and we are confident it will continue to sell and sell," said Scott Dodkins, managing director of Eidos in Europe.

"The first lady of video gaming has well and truly returned."

On Friday Lara Croft entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most successful human video game heroine" in history.

She was described as "transcending the boundaries of video games and becoming a recognisable figure in mainstream society".