The Tussauds Group is set to establish presence in Dubai, Mumbai besides United States by investing $75-million to open waxworks museums in Hollywood and Washington DC.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, the group, owned by the Middle Eastern investment firm Dubai International Capital sees overseas expansion as a key source of growth. After opening in Shanghai last year, it is now planning similar attractions also in Dubai and Mumbai.

In fact, the group is a large visitor attraction business operating primarily in the United Kingdom, in addition to five other countries.

Madame Tussauds in present in six cities: London, New York City, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Its attraction in the US capital is scheduled to open this autumn on the site of Woody's, an old department store. Hollywood's branch of Madame Tussauds will follow next year. It is being built on a brownfield site next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a Los Angeles landmark, and is the first overseas Tussauds to be built from scratch.

While the Hollywood attraction will mainly feature waxworks of film stars such as Cary Grant and Brad Pitt, Washington will have a more political flavour. One feature will be a replica of the Oval Office in the White House.

Tussauds has crossed the Atlantic, with attractions in New York and Las Vegas, and it is active in Asia, having opened in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is estimated that 4-million people visit Madame Tussauds waxworks every year.