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Australian television presenter Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, lifts up a snake onstage at Nickelodeon'
Font: * * * * TWINSBURG, Ohio (AP) - A talking "Crocodile Hunter" action figure with Steve Irwin's recorded voice, plus plush toys and educational items, will go on sale countrywide next month with the blessing of Irwin's widow.

The 39-piece Steve Irwin Wildlife Adventure Series will launch next month at the 2007 International Toy Fair in New York, K&M International announced.

K&M, based in this Cleveland suburb, also will sell the toys under its Wild Republic brand in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. They've been selling for a year at Irwin's family-owned Australia Zoo.

Irwin died Sept. 4, minutes after a poisonous barb from a stingray's tail pierced his chest while he was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in northern Australia to shoot footage for documentary projects.

The company was ready to stop the international launch, but Terri Irwin wanted to go ahead, said G.B. Pillai, K&M president.

"After Steve's death we decided to take the toy line worldwide immediately," Pillai said. "We want people to know what he stood for and never forget him."

Irwin recorded the voice for his action figure, dressed in his trademark khaki shorts and shirt with hiking boots. The doll describes a crocodile rescue, sprinkled with funny phrases in his thick Australian accent.

"Holy Guacamole!" it says at one point. "Do you see that? It's a giant golden orb spider and she's built her web right across our path! It's super sticky for catching small birds and bats. Let's not disturb it."

The line also includes stuffed crocodiles and a Steve Irwin Australian Tracker, a device like a walkie-talkie in which Irwin's voice describes parts of the continent.

"Steve was a person who worked to connect animals with humans, and he worked on ecology," Pillai said. "This is our primary niche core. This is not just a souvenir toy, it's a collectible."

K&M also plans in six months to launch a line of plush toys called Bindi's Friends, named for the Irwins' daughter, who will debut her own show on the Discovery Channel.

Irwin's final documentary, called "Ocean's Deadliest," is to air Sunday on Discovery. It will not include footage shot the day he died.

© The Canadian Press 2007