First glimpse of the relaunched London Aquarium

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The venue reopens today after £5million of work. New attractions include a "Shark Walk" over the surface of the water.

The walkway - which will allow people to come closer than ever to the carnivorous creatures - is deemed so nerve-racking a "panic route" has been built for frightened visitors.

First opened in 1997, the Aquarium was last year sold to Merlin Entertainments, which owns Sea Life centres in Britain. It reopens under the name of the Sea Life London Aquarium, and its owners have vowed to draw a million visitors a year.

The centrepiece is the Shark Pool with the walkway, built of wood with Perspex viewing windows, floating on the surface. Visitors can look down and see tiger sharks, brown sharks, zebra sharks, and 4.5-metre-long nurse sharks. There are also southern stingrays with a wingspan of two metres. Toby Forer, general manager of the venue, said: "We really want people to leave with a 'wow', and the Shark Walk provides that.

"Sharks really capture people's imagination, so we hope they will like it. However, in case people get concerned we have built an escape route so people can get off the walkway quickly."

The aquarium also has the world's biggest captive shoal of cownose rays, which can be viewed from a new underground tunnel built next to a life-size replica of a blue whale skeleton.

Dozens more species of fish have been added to the collection. There are areas where visitors can help feed and handle fish, and a section devoted to life found in the Thames. Mr Forer said: "We want to show people what is on their doorstep. People think of the Thames as this brown, muddy, unhealthy river, whereas it is teeming with life."

The Aquarium, which employs 64 staff, will be a research and breeding centre. Recently a male and female zebra shark were introduced to each other, and it is hoped they will breed.

Conservation will also be highlighted and the aim is to boost the number of schoolchildren visiting. "Last year we had 40,000, but that isn't enough," said Mr Forer. "We are setting up a classroom, and a lunch room for school tours."