Article: Meet Barbie of Arabia.(Barbie dolls for Arabian girls)(Brief Article)

CAIRO--Move over Barbie and you other blond, blue-eyed plastic bombshells. Here comes Laila, the doll designed with the Arab girl in mind.

When she debuts at toy stores later this year, Laila will have long black hair, big black eyes, and full lips. Unlike Barbie, an anatomically dubious adult, Laila will be a girl between 10 and 12 years old designed with Arab sensitivities in mind. "There is a cultural gap when an Arab girl plays with a doll like Barbie," said Abla Ibrahim, director of the Arab League's department of childhood, who dreamed up Laila to nudge regional manufacturers to supply the Arab world's toyshops. "The average Arab girl's reality is ...

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