The New York Times-20080124-Playing Dress-Up Games With Barbie- With the Computer or Without

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Playing Dress-Up Games With Barbie, With the Computer or Without

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Aspiring fashion designers can now mix and match Barbie's dresses, shoes and handbags using Barbie iDesign, the information-age equivalent of the paper doll.

The iDesign kit, available now at mattel.com and in stores for about $30, includes 50 clear plastic cards, each representing a piece of clothing or an accessory, along with software for Windows and a card reader that connects to a computer via the U.S.B. port.

When you swipe a card through the scanner, an outfit appears on an on-screen model, who can then appear on a magazine cover or in a fashion show. The shows can be customized with different themes and music, and the magazines can be printed. You can also design an outfit away from the computer, by simply stacking the cards on top of one another.

Four computer games extend the card play, with timed design challenges and a tricky style-guessing game. Additional $5 card sets come in themes like rocker, school, casual, party, sporty, beach bling and princess, making it possible to change the look of your virtual Barbie with the swipe of a card. If only picking real outfits were that easy. WARREN BUCKLEITNER

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