Those familiar with the fight between good and evil in the Star Wars trilogy will understand "the power of the force". In May Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the first of three new "prequels" in the space saga, will be released in the US.

Already, a two-minute trailer for the film is creating huge interest in the US and elsewhere, with fans paying the cinema entrance fee and then leaving before the main movie begins. Such is the power of the Star Wars "force". However, over the coming months the public will witness a different kind of force - the omnipotent presence of Hollywood marketing.

A corporate memo leaked to The Force.net website on January 7th disclosed details of massive US Star Wars promotions in conjunction with Pepsi, Hasbro & Galoob Toys, Lego International, Nintendo and certain restaurant chains. The scale of the promotions is unprecedented.

The leak suggests that Pepsi plans to produce eight billion cans featuring 12 different Star Wars characters with a limited edition "Yoda" Gold Can randomly placed in packs for instant prizes.

Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell outlets will each be decorated to resemble one of the three Star Wars planets, Coruscant, Naboo and Tatooine, that will feature in the new movie. Collectible toys and action figures will also be on offer with an array of Star Wars foods in the three food chains.

Hasbro & Galoob Toys will launch a $40 million (€34.5 million) TV advertising campaign aimed at children in the US, with expected worldwide toy sales of $1 billion.

Nintendo will invest $9.5 million in an advertising campaign promoting Star Wars video games with the company expecting sales of five million units on each product released. Lego will open its first US theme park in California this spring, based on the Star Wars theme.

The leaked memo came from an anonymous source at "a large media organisation that shall remain unnamed", according to the website. The promotional plans are said to originate from a marketing summit hosted by Lucasfilm at Skywalker Ranch in California last month. Delegates from licensing companies and Lucasfilm/Fox made presentations on promotions to be tied in with the US release date of The Phantom Menace on May 21st.

The first episode in the series, Star Wars: A New Hope, released in 1977 remained the highest-grossing film in cinematic history until it was toppled by Titanic last year. The Phantom Menace is the first Star Wars film since The Return of the Jedi in 1983. It will be heralded by the biggest promotional campaign in cinema.

Chronicling the early life of Anakin Skywalker, later to become the evil Darth Vader, the new episode stars Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, a maverick Jedi knight. Irish actors Adrian Dunbar and Bronagh Gallagher appear in minor roles. The first three Star Wars features, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, generated toy and merchandising sales in excess of $33 billion complementing the millions more taken by the trilogy at the box office and from TV and video spin-offs.

A unique feature of the hype accompanying the new episode is the success of the teaser trailer released in US cinemas on November 17th last. At one Los Angeles cinema showing Denzel Washington's blockbuster, The Siege, attendance jumped by 1,147 per cent due to the two-minute 10-second TPM trailer preceding the feature. The nationwide release of the trailer saw Star Wars fans queueing for hours, paying $9 or more, only to leave after the 130 seconds of film.

Internet activity has been intense since George Lucas outlined his plans to make the three Star Wars prequels in 1993. Lucasfilm has catered for the demands of a worldwide audience eager to view the trailer by creating downloading facilities at its official website. The site received two million "actual" downloads of the trailer during its first week, reportedly the single biggest "event" in Internet history.

Several Phantom Menace trailers have been for sale on EBAY, the online auction site, attracting bids of upwards of $460.

Lucasfilm reported that the two-minute trailer was "a phenomenal success," according to the leaked memo. The company plans to release a five-minute trailer before May 1999.

The two-minute trailer has been playing across Northern Ireland since December 16th. It should reach cinemas in the Republic before The Phantom Menace is released here on July 16th, 1999.

The merchandising has already begun. Interested fans can add a new toy from The Phantom Menace to their Star Wars collection of action figures.

The "Battle Droid", a member of the Trade Federation Army, and "STAP", his spaceship, can be bought at the official Star Wars website for $16.95.

According to the site, the STAP is a small, "one-pilot repulsorlift vehicle outfitted with two laser cannons. It is extremely maneuverable (sic), making it perfect for patrol, reconnaissance and battle".

May the force be with the parents of young children as they face the real menace of this mega-marketing campaign.

The Phantom Menace trailer can be downloaded from the Internet at: http://www.starwars.com/episodei/news/trailer