LONDON — At the Imperial War Museum, James Bond fans are packing in for "For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond," the first major exhibit about the man who created the world's most famous secret agent.

It celebrates the centenary of Fleming's birth and runs to

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'Bond, James Bond,' says the famous spy with a devilishly sexy smile. Pictured is Daniel Craig's shirt from 'Casino Royale,' part of an exhibition

Photos: Check out the gadgets from 007 movies Your favorite Bond girl? IF YOU GO Getting there: Expect to pay $1,000 or more round trip to London this summer, or wait for airfare deals in the fall, winter or early spring. About the exhibit: Through March 1 - "For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond." Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road. 011-020-7416-5320, www.iwm.org.uk. Information: VisitBritain, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, NY 10176-0799. 1-800-462-2748, www.visitbritain.org. International travel stories Become a Temporary European  Shanghai pushes for luxury crowd despite tough times  Discounts abound as tourism to Thailand drops  Techie tips for travelers  Want an all-American Independence Day? Try London  Photos: Travel / International Galleries Latest deals! Back to: Travel | U.S. and international destinations

March 1.

As Edith Piaf softly sings "La Vie en Rose" in the background, it's easy to imagine Fleming at his desk in his beloved Jamaican villa, Goldeneye, where he wrote all the Bond books on a manual Remington typewriter.

The writing table and several book jackets for "Casino Royale," his first book, are just the teasers for much of 007's legendary paraphernalia that animates the show.

Here is the back story of the legendary master spy — that would be both Fleming and 007. The exhibit explores his life as a journalist and his wartime career as an intelligence officer for the Royal Navy. Paradoxically, he was also author of a beloved children's book, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," which he wrote for his son, and a travel writer whose "Thrilling Cities" is the tale of his journeys through Europe, the United States and the Far East.

How much in the Bond books is imaginary, and how much is based on real people and events? How much of Fleming is 007?

Elderly British pensioners with canes peer attentively into the glass cases, looking at family photos, reading letters, such as Fleming's memorandum to Bill Donovan about starting a CIA, and a letter describing Bond: "6-foot, 1-inch, slim hips, middle 30s, wears two-button single-breasted suit in dark blue tropical worsted, black leather belt, and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch."

Best of all, of course, are the gear and gadgets, where dads with young boys ogle Goldfinger's golf shoes, Daniel Craig's "blood-splattered" shirt and bow tie from "Casino Royale," the cello with the bullet hole from "The Living Daylights," the heart transplant unit used for smuggling diamonds in "The Living Daylights," Q's traveling case from "A View to a Kill," the spear gun from "Thunderball" and the wing-mirror dart gun from "Live and Let Die."

Who wouldn't be fascinated by the working model of an Aston Martin made for Prince Andrew, with license plate JB007 GB? Or the cigarette rocket from "You Only Live Twice," and the Little Nellie helicopter with torpedoes?

Everything is in glass cases, tantalizingly out of reach, but there are a couple of interactive exhibits. You can play roulette by touching the glass cover — and by tapping the glass above each of several objects, you'll get their back stories on a video screen. For instance, touch the glass over Rosa Klebb's flick knife shoes and you read about the hidden poisoned switchblade with which she kicked Bond in "From Russia With Love."

Smoke and mirrors, gear and gadgets are only part of the fun. The rest is how Fleming's life and times turn up in the Bond books.

As a Reuters reporter, he covered alpine motor trials and got hooked on fast cars and ski adventures. His wartime naval intelligence work took him to exotic locales such as Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); Cairo, Egypt; and Tehran, Iran, which surfaced in the novels. And his boss, Admiral John Godfrey, director of Naval Intelligence, became the model for M (which didn't much please him).

The German V-2 rockets against London suggested a similar plot in "Moonraker," and Italian frogmen sinking Allied ships off Gibraltar led to Bond swimming underwater to plant a mine in a boat in "Live and Let Die."

Even his home, Goldeneye, was named after a wartime plan to defend Gibraltar.

From early on, Fleming had a taste for the good life and an eye for beautiful women. He lived a glamorous life of, fine wines, good food and easy sex, and he shared it with his readers. It turned out to be the perfect escape from a dreary post-war world.

Fleming died of a heart attack at 56, but we know nothing can kill 007. He lives on through several other authors, first Kingsley Amis, writing as Robert Markham, and Sebastian Faulks, author of "Devil May Care," published this year on Fleming's birthday, May 28, to mark the centenary.

A new Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," with Craig and Judi Dench, is scheduled to open Nov. 7.

For Bond vivants and adventurers, what better way to celebrate the centenary than at Dukes Bar, Fleming's favorite watering hole and hotel, which happens to be marking its own centennial this year?

Settle in at the clubby bar, where Alessandro Palazzi, bar manager, or one of his three bartenders, will make a classic martini, or a Bond-created Vesper martini at your table. Then raise a glass, a martini glass, of course, to James Bond and Ian Fleming.

Scobey has covered travel and food in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, India, the Mideast, South America, Australia, the Pacific and North America. She has written five cookbooks.