Reported on The Age

Melbourne's massive Chadstone shopping mall is set to be the home for Australia's first major Lego attraction.

The mall's owners say the new Legoland Discovery Centre, due to open in mid-2017, will cover a massive 2800 square metres, equal to about 30 averaged-size homes, and will boast interactive rides, play areas and even a small cinema to keep the kids occupied.

The Chadstone Lego centre will make be the first discovery centre in southern hemisphere for Lego, which was described in January by Forbes' Fast Company publication as "the Apple of toys".

The Australian store will join a global network of Lego Discovery Centres operated by British group Merlin Entertainment, including nine in North America, four in Europe and two in Japan.