• The Miami Herald/AP, Monday, December 24, 2007 12 PM

Heading into the holiday shopping season, the familiar pink and blonde Barbie doll's merchandise empire seems strong. For the fifth year in a row, the doll tops girls' wish lists, according to the National Retail Federation. Barbie Girls MP3 Player is listed as one of the season's 12 Hottest Toys by Toy Wishes magazine.

But Barbie also has a dark, lacy side: Barbie Collector dolls, which are designed to be appreciated by adults, not kids. The Lingerie Barbies, for example, wear hose and garters, bustiers or slips, high heels--and not much more. They are the only collectible dolls on the Mattel collectors Web site where the doll's picture is confined to head and shoulders.

This sensuality is not an afterthought, and it is not confined to the Lingerie series. Mattel refers to "the sweet, sultry girls of the golden age of pin-ups" in its Barbie Pin-up series. The Hula Honey Barbie's bathing suit is described as "alluring." The cowgirl in short-shorts is a "unique cowgirl combination of wholesomeness and sex appeal." Mattel emphasizes that its collectible line was never intended for children, and the Barbie collectors Web site and the Barbie.com girl-oriented Web site are separate.

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