The event will also be the biggest ever get-together of 680 local record holders invited by the Vietnam Guinness Book Centre.

Top of the list is the largest collection of epics of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen) with 75 works, including 30 of the Bana ethnic group, 26 of the M’nong, 10 of the Ede, four of the Xo dang, three of the Raglai and two of the Cham.

The collection is the result of a VND17 billion project carried out by the Vietnam Institute for Social Sciences from 2001 to 2007.

The collection comprises of 62 volumes with some 60,400 pages printed bilingually in Vietnamese and ethnic languages.

The Tay Nguyen Epics are on the nomination list for UNESCO’s recognition as an oral and intangible cultural heritage of the humanity.

Another record in publishing is the country’s first set of Braille textbooks for the blind.

Teachers from the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the blind spent six years on compiling and converting all of 103 ordinary textbooks in all subjects from the 1st to 12th grades into 311 Braille textbooks.

A programme to popularise historical knowledge on banners in Ho Chi Minh City has also been named a new Vietnam record.

A total of 3,569 banners of 0.8m x 2.85m were hung during festive days along the city’s streets, highlighting the names and contributions of the nation’s heroes, as well as important events in Vietnam’s 4,000-year history.

There are some records that reflect the firm will and deep passion of Vietnamese individuals such as doctor Truong Thin, the first succeeding in using traditional medicine in drug addiction treatment; doctor Chan Hung, who carried out the biggest number of scientific research projects on cancer in Vietnam and Duong Van Ngo, 78, who has worked for the longest time writing letters for those unable to write by themselves.

The list also includes the biggest wooden tennis racket which is 1.25m long and weighs 10 kg, and the largest bowl of rice gruel made from 100kg of rice and 100kg of pork.

Vietbook said records for 2009 will focus on honouring the Vietnamese gastronomy with vegetarian and traditional dishes that use various types of vegetables.