Thousands of children in Italy have come together to set a new world record for the tallest structure built entirely from Lego blocks.

Little ones of all ages worked with some 600,000 Lego bricks at an event hosted at the Milan World Expo to construct a tower 35.05 metres tall, breaking the previous Guinness World Record of 34.76 metres.

Lego Italy's marketing director, Camillo Mazzola, explained why they had decided to set the challenge at the expo.

"It is the first thing that a child who has Lego bricks in hand does, even at the age of two when they are not capable of constructing things, they put one over another and build a tower. So, today we go from a non-professional tower built by a child, to the super tower of records," he said.

Mazzola added that commercial interest was not at the heart of the event.

"Above all we want to inspire lots of children to think beyond their limits, to think great, to stimulate their imagination and help them see, also in terms of self-esteem, improving their self esteem, that adding one brick above another great things can be achieved. So, this tower will be a symbol for these children, who are the builders of tomorrow for us, of what they may do for the entire world," he said.

The World Expo in Milan is taking place in the city from 1 May - 31 October 2015.