New kid on the block for Christmas!

"It is the first time Barbie has been out of our top 10," said Ben Green, chairperson of the UK Toy Retailers Association, as it predicted the must-have toys for Xmas 2004.

"Bratz has such a phenomenal impetus behind her. She is very much the new kid on the block," he said.

The busty and blonde Barbie has ruled supreme ever since her launch by United States toymaker Mattel. She saw off 'Cindy' but now faces her toughest competition yet from multi-ethnic Bratz, brainchild of Isaac Larian, who founded US-based MGA Entertainment - now billed as the world's biggest privately owned toy company.

Bratz has been launched to the South African toy market by Prima Toys.

Managing director of Prima Toys says, "with over 200 licensees worldwide, "Bratz" has also become one of the leading lifestyle brands in the world with phenomenal demand for the brand locally. Bratz products include apparel, footwear, and fashion accessories, to wallpaper, bedding, and bath accessories, to name just a few categories".

"Dolls dominate the girls' sector which is worth over £400-million, so it's no wonder that the competition is hot," Green added.

Barbie, all a-glitter in her sparkling "Princess and the Pauper" carriage with interactive kitten, Serafina, at her side, put a brave face on the demotion.

"We are still confident we are going to have a great Christmas. Barbie will continue to evolve," said Sarah Allen, a UK spokesperson for Mattel.

Just down the aisle from Barbie at the association's pre-Christmas media preview, Bratz was pouting in triumph and flicking her thigh-length hair in a Seventies disco outfit.

"I think she is responding to the post-Spice Girl generation. Kids want streetwise fashion," said Emma Sherski, marketing director of UK licensee Vivid Imaginations.

But at least Barbie is still in with a fighting chance for Christmas back home in the US. On Tuesday in New York, she and Bratz were both picked for the "Hot Dozen" holiday list released by Toy Wishes magazine.

For Christmas this year, parents of boys will have to dig deep into their wallets, with 'Robosapien', an all-dancing, karate-kicking robot already proving a popular choice at £80 (about R900) in Britain.

Nostalgia is also playing a big part this Christmas on both sides of the Atlantic with a revival being enjoyed by Cabbage Patch Kids, "adopted" by 65 million kids around the globe since first being launched in the Eighties.