USB devices are coming in all shapes and sizes, but this is the first MP3 player I’ve seen in an . . . unusual . . . shape. Mattel has created an MP3 player in the form (sort of) of Barbie.

Not scheduled to be available until July, these devices allow kids to connect to barbiegirls.com, an online community. They’ll use the devices to create an avatar for the community, chat with each other, download music and, of course, shop.

Mattel has devised two very interesting ways to keep the site safe:

• The vocabulary for chat is a list of 2,000 words.
• Personal information can only be provided within a private chat with a “best friend.”
• To be sure they are close friends, Mattel requires one of them to connect their MP3 player to the other friend’s computer.

[from CNET News.com]