4Kids Entertainment International's Yu-Gi-Oh! is increasing its presence in Italy with a series of new deals.

Linea D has signed for Yu-Gi-Oh! T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear, jeans, towels, jackets and shoes, and Giochi Preziosi has signed for back-to-school and stationery. A new toy line is due to launch in this autumn from Upper Deck, which will include action figures, wrist card holders and Duel Runners.

Yu-Gi-Oh! launched in Japan in 1999 with 17 million video games sold to date worldwide and over 18.1 billion Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards, in seven languages, sold in 51 countries worldwide. Some 6 million 6- to 8-year-olds collect and play the trading card game across the globe.

In Italy, "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX" season 3 airs on Saturday mornings on Mediaset's Italia 1, which has also acquired the first season of the new "Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's" series.

"Yu-Gi-Oh! is hugely popular in Italy and its success shows no signs of abating," says Sandra Vauthier-Cellier, managing director of 4Kids Entertainment International. "The brand is absolutely red hot at the moment and the arrival of 5D's is adding to the excitement surrounding it."