CARBONDALE - A Carbondale man wants to see the United States' second Legoland theme park constructed in Southern Illinois.

Dennis Smith sent a letter to the Lego Corp. after seeing its California theme park on the Web. Lego, the manufacturer of the popular children's building block toys, operates amusement parks in California, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Germany.

Smith has never visited any of the Legoland locations, but after visiting Six Flags St. Louis, he started researching various amusement parks and decided to contact Lego about building a park between Carbondale and Murphysboro. The company responded to Smith's inquiry by sending him a letter about their California location and their LEGO Club.

"Careful consideration must go into a decision of such major importance, so I'm referring your letter on to the appropriate managers for review," the letter said.

Smith followed up with his own letters to the Jackson County Board, Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole and Murphysboro Mayor Ron Williams. He said he wanted to show them the support of the project and its potential to create jobs for the region.

His plan for the theme park also includes the addition of a zoo featuring "animals from all over the world" and a water park.

"I've talked to a lot of people and they're hoping it comes here," Smith said.