YORKSHIRE'S already put in a bid for Home Rule and its own parliament.

Now the county is set to win further recognition of its unique character - with the launch of its own version of Monopoly.

A version of the board game featuring York and the rest of the county could be on the shelves by the end of the year.

The makers of the legendary game have already expanded the formula to take in Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh and now they feel God's county has enough landmarks to replace the London mainstays of Bond Street and Mayfair.

Perhaps they feel the game appeals to the Yorkshire trait of holding on to as much money as possible - preferably without going to jail!

Manufacturer Winning Moves is licensed to make the game on behalf of toy giant Hasbro in this country and has found a major market in localising the winning formula.

The regional versions carry photographs of well-known locations, such as Edgbaston in Birmingham and the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, and York's many famous features are set to make the Yorkshire edition.

Historical sites like York Minster and Castle Howard have been thrown into the ring as possible properties to be bought and sold in the make-believe world of Monopoly.

And sponsorship is being sought for many squares, mainly by major businesses. Nestl and GNER in York are just two of the names being mooted in the PR nerve centre working for Winning Moves from a Lancashire office.

Michael Debenham, of Cartmell PR, is currently on the look-out for interested parties to get involved in the Yorkshire edition of Monopoly and feels the version could have lots of character.

He said: "For tourist sites we couldn't miss out York Minster. My thoughts for utilities would be to use Yorkshire Electricity and Yorkshire Water. Then for transport we could use the famous York Station, as the HQ of GNER.

"For brand names we would like to include people like Rowntree's and Terry's of York. Another tourist destination would be the Yorkshire coast and the Heartbeat country built up because of the TV programme.

"Further afield could be places like the Tetley Brewery in Leeds and even the Tadcaster breweries. We are hoping it comes out in the autumn but we have got to do more research and approach more companies. But if any of your readers or companies in your area are interested in getting involved we would love to hear from them."

Once the Yorkshire Monopoly board is decided and ready for launch Cartmell PR say it will be booking Yorkshire celebrities like Richard Whiteley and Jimmy Savile to help promote it.

Anyone with any ideas should put them to our newsdesk on York 653051 and we will refer them to the makers of Monopoly.

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