“Mattel is using technology to come up with a new twist on a toy launched in 1959 to appeal to today’s web-savvy,multimedia girl shoppers,”the age reports.”On Thursday,Mattel unveiled Barbie Girls,a doll-shaped MP3 player that turns into a live character at BarbieGirls.com, a website where girls can interact with each other in a manner reminiscent of Second Life,the virtual world for adults.The company hopes the new toy,which brings together Web surfing,shopping and music downloads, will cool demand for rival MGA Entertainment’s sassy Bratz dolls - a line of big-headed, skinny dolls with scant, trendy clothing.The world’s largest toy maker is also taking aim at Apple’s iPod music players and Ganz’s Webkinz, furry animal toys that come alive online”.

Barbie gets a tech-savvy makeover