BBC News Online: Business

Playboy dolls to go on sale

The plastic playmates seem unlikely toys for little girls

The 16 inch tall dolls, which will have "smooth skin" and be "anatomically correctly" shaped, will go on sale for about $50 via a range of websites.

Playboy Enterprises has signed a deal with the marketing firm The Stronghold Group to develop three new dolls each year for five or 10 years.

Just 30,000 of each doll will be produced, with two-thirds going to the US market.

The Barbie-style dolls may well prove popular, though it seems highly unlikely that the sister-dolls will compete to attract the same customers.

Guess who?

The former Guess? Jeans catalogue model, Victoria Silvstedt, will feature as the first doll.

Ms Silvstedt was Playmate of the Year in 1997.

The Ms Silvstedt doll is about to be launched and will be available until March next year.