Masks of Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush are on display at the Hong Kong International Toys & Gifts Show 2001, October 22, 2001. The masks are selling for US.90 each.[Reuters]

The most-wanted man on the US list, Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, has turned up at the Hong Kong International Toys & Gifts Fair, or at least Halloween masks bearing his image have.

Toy makers are trying to cash in on the notoriety of the man the United States blames for the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington and New York, and say they hope his masks will be a big Halloween hit.

``We foresee that there will be a big market and people will buy these masks for Halloween or parties,'' said John Lui, assistant sales manager at Perfectech International Trading Ltd.

And to show that he is giving equal time to all the key figures in America's war on terrorism, Lui said the company planned to offer masks of President Bush.

Lui, donning the prototype bin Laden mask for reporters, said he did not think it would cause problems for wearers in the United States. ``I don't think so. It's just for fun,'' he said.

Also on display at Perfectech's booth were a toy gas mask and banners showing images of New York fire fighters and bearing slogans like ``God Bless America.''

Another booth was displaying masks of Bush, bin Laden and a horned devil, for sale at .90 each.

A third company, Continental Latex Industrial Ltd., was in talks with clients to produce Bush masks, but a representative said there were no plans to produce a bin Laden version.

The mask makers have not been the only Hong Kong companies to seek profit from the September attacks.

A cap maker said its October orders jumped 30 percent from a year earlier as its China factory produced hundreds of thousands of baseball caps bearing patriotic slogans such as ``United We Stand,'' ``God Bless America'' and ``We won't forget 9-11.''

(Agencies)