BRITISH inventor James Dyson will today unveil his latest cleaning device - `The Ball'.

This comes after his revolutionary bagless vacuum machines became the best-selling upright cleaners in the US last year when 891,000 of them were snapped up.

Until now, the Wiltshire-based millionaire has kept his newest piece of dirt-removing gadgetry under a veil of secrecy.

The Ball will be launched at 5pm at the Oxo Tower in central London. Despite the secrecy, The Ball has already made advertising history by becoming the first major campaign to use a UK blog to gets its message out.

Blog

Up until today, Dyson has been using Shiny Shiny and Tech Digest, the blog sites for publisher Shiny Media, to run its latest teaser adverts which are based on a éPong-styleé game.

Last month Dyson said it controlled 20.7% of the US market for vacuum cleaners, having overtaken rival Hoover after volumes more than tripled in 2004 with 891,000 units sold.

In the UK, where Dyson has a 40% share of the market by value, profits were 10% higher than a year ago despite the increased competition from cheap imports.

Dyson caused an outcry in 2002 with the decision to move manufacturing to Malaysia and cutting 500 jobs in the UK.

Although production of its vacuum cleaners and washing machines is now based solely in Malaysia, the company employs 1,200 people at its headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, of whom 350 are research and development staff.

Dyson sells its products in 37 countries around the world.