SINGAPORE - A new stamp issue featuring two popular myths and legends of Singapore will be released on Friday.

Entitled, Singapore's Myths and Legends, the issue illustrates the legend of Redhill, or Bukit Merah, about fierce swordfish that attacked villagers there till a boy's plan to trap them using banana tree trunks worked.

As the story goes, the boy was later killed by a king jealous of his subsequent fame, covering the hill with blood and turning it red.

It will also feature the legend of Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Palembang who, as the story goes, discovered the island of Singapore (known then as Temasek) while out on a hunting trip. According to the legend, the prince spotted what he thought was a lion, and named the island Singapura - Lion City in Sanskrit.

The set of eight stamps will be priced at $6.16. Two sets of pre-cancelled First Day Covers will cost $7.80, while a presentation pack will cost $8.20.

They will be available at all post offices, the Philatelic Museum, and online at www.stampdelight.com