The toys recalled Tuesday were all made in China and posed a choking hazard or contained unsafe levels of lead, according to the CPSC. But the agency said there were no reports of injuries from the toys, which also included a "Barbie Doll and Tanner" play set and the car Sarge from the Pixar movie "Cars."

"I apologize for the situation we are all facing," Mattel Chairman and CEO Robert Eckert told CNN. "We'll continue working very hard on the standards, and if we see more issues, we'll promptly notify people."

The recall affects 9.58 million imported toys sold at toy stores, discount stores and other retailers nationwide dating back as far back as May 2003. Worldwide, Mattel said the recall includes nearly 19 million toys.

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Eckert said more recalls may be coming as the nation's biggest toymaker tightens its quality-control standards,

During the call, Mattel characterized the magnet problem as a design issue, and blamed a Chinese subcontractor for the presence of lead paint.

"They did not do their own due diligence," said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the consumer group U.S. PIRG."They relied on Chinese subcontractors - that doesn't cut it."

Mattel said it was recalling 72 different products, including 7.3 million "Polly Pocket" dolls and accessories, 345,000 "Batman" action figures, 253,000 "Sarge" die-cast cars, 683,000 "Barbie and Tanner" magnetic toys and 1 million "Doggie Day Care" play sets. An additional 2.4 million "Polly Pocket" play sets were recalled in November.

Retailers including Wal-Mart (down $0.02 to $43.58, Charts, Fortune 500) ordered their stores to pull the affected toys from shelves and stopping them from being sold at registers.

Tuesday's announcement marks another devastating blow for Mattel. Two weeks ago the company recalled 1.5 million toys made in China for its Fisher-Price unit due to the presence of lead. The company said the recalls would cost about $30 million.

It also followed Monday's news that the boss of a Chinese factory that produced the lead-tainted Fisher-Price toys had committed suicide.

Some 70 to 80 percent of all the toys sold in the United States are made in China, according to the CPSC. The agency estimates that hundreds of millions of toys are imported into the United States every year.

"The point is when a toy come into the U.S., it must meet U.S. safety standards," Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the CPSC, told reporters after Mattel's announcement. "What I would like to see, at the end of the day, is toys tested in China before they are imported into the U.S."

The recall is the latest development in the growing crisis over the safety of Chinese products. Chinese officials have gone out of their way to stress the safety and quality of its exports, blaming the problems on a small number of companies.

Earlier this month, China's Commerce ministry blacklisted 400 export firms following the recent product safety scares.

Mattel said consumers should stop using the affected toys immediately and contact the company for instructions about how to receive a replacement.

Mattel's launched a Web site (www.mattel.com/safety/) that includes a full list of the recalled toys. Or consumers can also visit the CPSC site to learn which "Polly Pocket", "Batman", "Sarge", "Barbie and Tanner" and "Doggie Day Care" toys are affected.

Millions of toys have also been recalled in the United States due to hazards from small, powerful magnets and lead paint. Shares in the largest U.S. toy company fell as much as 6 percent.

The European Commission, which oversees consumer safety across the European Union, said it had not been notified of any recalls under RAPEX, the bloc's rapid alert system under which countries must immediately report any cases of unsafe products.

A spokesman for Mattel in Belgium said the company had issued a "voluntary recall" of products across the 27-member bloc. He could not say how many products in total would have to be returned across the whole of the EU.

Mattel in Germany said it was recalling 1 million toys from the German market. Nearly 2 million toys sold in Britain and Ireland were being recalled due to concerns linked to small magnetic toys.

Recalls of thousands of toys were also confirmed in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

A total of 18.2 million toys around the world are being recalled, the company said.

In 2006, 48 percent of all products notified under RAPEX originated in China and Brussels warned Beijing last month that the 27-nation bloc would take measures and even ban Chinese products if the situation did not improve.

Earlier this month Mattel recalled 1.5 million of its toys worldwide sold through its Fisher-Price unit and made in China, including popular Sesame Street characters Elmo and Big Bird, over concerns their paint might contain too much lead.

Tuesday's recall concerned a number of Mattel products also sold through Fisher Price including Batman, Polly Pocket, Doggie Day Care, Dora and Pixar Sarge die-cast toy cars, also due to concerns over lead paint linked to health problems in children.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said there had been reports of three children swallowing more than one magnet and suffering intestinal perforations that required surgery.

When more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal.

A lawyer for the British plaintiffs, Michael A. Galpern, said they will be considering whether to appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

"We believe today's decision took an unrealistic view of English Law, and entirely disregarded the plain fact that the United Kingdom's loser pays system means that pensioners must now run the risk that Merck may take their house if they lose this case," Galpern said.

He said it was ironic that Merck said New Jersey was an inconvenient location to defend itself.

"The effect of today's ruling will be to make it much cheaper and easier for American companies to injure and kill non-U.S. residents," Galpern said.

Merck lawyer Charles W. Cohen applauded the ruling, asserting that the lawsuits should be filed in Britain, where the plaintiff's medical records and witnesses are located.

He noted that a similar finding was reached last year by the judge handling all the federal lawsuits, who dismissed lawsuits from residents of France and Italy.

Merck pulled Vioxx from the market in 2004 after research showed it doubled cardiovascular risks. The number of pending personal injury lawsuits against Merck have declined recently, to about 26,950, as some claims were dismissed. The company maintains it will not change its strategy of fighting each lawsuit.

Cases filed in New Jersey are all being handled by one judge, state Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee in Atlantic City.

Cases filed in various federal courts have been sent to New Orleans, where they are before U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.

Merck has won nine cases and lost five that have reached verdicts; it is appealing all its losses and faces retrials involving three other plaintiffs.

The ruling, which caught Mulroney's lawyers off guard, came Thursday in a default judgment by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The motion being argued today in a Toronto courtroom says the judgment was made in the face of a pending motion that challenged the Ontario court's jurisdiction.

In the motion, Mulroney's lawyers argue their client successfully met the deadline to respond to a lawsuit filed by Schreiber.

The motion argues Mulroney can't be found in default without an express court order delivered with proper notice to his lawyers.

Schreiber sued the former prime minister to recoup $300,000 in cash the businessman says he handed to Mulroney over three meetings in hotel rooms in New York and Montreal in 1993 and 1994.