$array["a"] = "Foo";
$array["b"] = "Bar";
$array["c"] = "Baz";
$array["d"] = "Wom";
$str = serialize($array);
php array to be storable value in $_SESSION:
serialize($array)
serialized array element to be output on page:
unserialize($serializedArray)
//If you plan to serialize and store it in file or database use below syntax
//to safely serialize
$safe_string_to_store = base64_encode(serialize($multidimensional_array));
//to unserialize...
$array_restored_from_db = unserialize(base64_decode($encoded_serialized_string));