The hotel heiress - who already has her own lines of perfumes, jewellery, shoes, pet clothes and women's wear - is keen to branch out into a new lucrative market and is in the process of coming up with a character to accompany the new products.

She wrote on her Twitter page: "Just got home from a long day. About to start drawing the character for my new children's clothing line." Paris, 28, is not the first celebrity to design clothes aimed at children.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have a clothing line available in Wal-Mart stores across the US, aimed at girls aged four to 14. Tori Spelling is.

In the process of launching Little Maven by Tori Spelling, a children's line inspired by her two kids, Liam and Stella.

She said: "I pay close attention to what styles and materials Liam and Stella feel most comfortable in, and then I add the stylish element. Plus I love to dress my kids in strong fun pop colours, and that really inspired me to keep the line bold in palette."