Standing 30cm (1ft) tall and boasting a chest circumference of 20cm (7.75in), the talking plastic Jesus is bigger than a Spiderman action figure. But it remains to be seen whether the toy has the commercial clout to outsell the webslinger.

A US company is ready to launch Biblical dolls in Britain and is negotiating with distributors to have the products on sale in the high street by early next year.

California-based One2Believe has had homegrown success with its toys, which include a talking Mary and a Daniel complete with lion and den, and is praying for a similar happy ending in the UK.

Figures from its Tales of Glory range are available for a limited period in 400 Wal-Mart stores, the first time the world's largest retailer has sold a full line of religious toys, and they have sold in their thousands.

Company spokesman Josh Livingston said: "We are actively looking for a company that can distribute the toys to retailers in the UK. The UK market is important to us because we want to reach children with the Gospel whether they live in the US or Europe or elsewhere."

One of the most popular toys is the 30cm talking Jesus, who recites three verses from the Bible - Mark 12:30, Mark 12:31 and John 3:16 - each lasting 11 seconds or less, as well as a 59-second telling of the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes.

"We are finding that the toys are being purchased by parents who are both very involved in their faith and those who are looking for a way to introduce faith to their children. The distributors are interested in talking to Toys 'R' Us as well as other major secular retailers. If the toys have been placed in Wal-Mart they would be interested in doing something like that in the UK," he added.

A foot-high Jesus may be a hard sell for British shops, says the owner of toy retail chain The Entertainer. Gary Grant, who is a Christian, said: "Stores choose toys they know they can sell. People in the US are more open about their faith and in certain areas the sale of these toys would have been encouraged. Britain does not have a Bible belt but it does have large and lively churches. I can see people being threatened by Jesus, it's too Christian, but people would feel more at home with Daniel, who has a lovely story. Jesus is a unique character. I can't see why anyone would want to buy their child a Jesus toy if they weren't from a faith background."

Mr Grant has previously sold religious products - Holy Bears - through his stores.

"They did well because they weren't explicitly Christian. I don't recall seeing religious toys on the high street - specialist shops yes - and it's my job to keep up with developments."