LINE, a Japanese-designed app for instant messaging on smartphones and PCs, has opened its first 'theme park'.

Situated in the galleries of the National Taiwan Science Education Centre in Taipei, it's the company's first major exhibition and being held in Taiwan to show appreciation for the support of LINE by the country's public. According to the company's blog, more than 70 per cent of the population use the service.

The LINE Friends Interactive Amusement Park Exhibition tells the story of the creation of the app's LINE Town cartoon characters and features large models of them for visitors to pose with for photos.

Also part of the show - which runs until 27 April - is a model town, an exclusive collection of rare LINE illustrations and a LINE pop-up store offering a range of souvenirs and limited edition products.

Having established itself in Asia, LINE is now said to be planning similar events as part of its push to create markets elsewhere in the world.