PussyCat Dolls, an R&B-influenced pop group whose first CD was released last year, struck a deal with Hasbro. The toy maker will create a line of fashion dolls modeled on the group's six members. The toy line is expected to be on sale by this year's holiday season.

The dolls, intended for children aged 6 to 9, will be priced around $15, with the record label, Interscope Records, receiving a royalty on sales.

Hasbro views the PussyCat Dolls as a line that could sell to the same girls who buy the Bratz dolls from rival, MGA Entertainment.

Available for $25 as a dowload or CD from www.giglles.net, Giggles Computer Funtime for Baby transforms a MAC or PC into a busy box.

A baby (6 to 24 months) sitting on your lap can bash, mouth or click the keyboard into any of 10 exploration zones.

There's a farm where pressing any key makes an animal pop up on the screen or a backyard scene where pressing any key makes a rabbit dance. When baby stops pressing, the action stops too, helping children feel in control of the noisy, silly experience.

A control panel lets parents toggle among five musical styles from classical to bluegrass and a screen saver mode makes some select games available whenever the computer is on.

Unlike many technology products for babies, this one makes no claims of creating an Einstein. What this program does is create an informal setting where a child sitting on a lap, can freely explore what used to be forbidden territory: a parent's computer.

A survey of 1,100 seven to 12 year olds and their parents found that 89 percent of children would rather spend more time with their parents than receive gifts from them and that this was the best way of making them feel loved.

A similar proportion of parents would rather swap a pay raise or promotion at work for the chance to spend more time with their families.

They rated watching TV and going to the cinema or theatre as the most boring of family activities. Unlike watching TV, creative activities really unite all those involved, helping to break down the parent-child barriers. The research suggested that although 99 percent of parents would like to get creative with their kids, the time pressures of modern life often prevent them from doing so.

That’s all for this issue.

Thank you for your attention and all the best!

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