Online Miss Bimbo game made parents worried

A new internet game called 'The Miss Bimbo', which enables young girls to give plastic surgery to virtual characters and feed them diet pills, has become a matter of concern for parents.

Girls, as young as nine, can been seen taking interest in the game, and competing against other players in beauty contests to earn money, so that they can dress their characters in lingerie and take them to nightclubs.

"(To become) the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the whole world" is what the aim of the game is.

A player has to keep the character at a target weight with the help of diet pills.

The players have to work the missions given to them, which include securing plastic surgery to give their "bimbo" bigger breasts, and finding a billionaire boyfriend to bankroll her while keeping a constant check on her hunger, thirst, happiness and other statistics.

Since its launch a month ago, the game has earned about 200,000 players in Britain to date. Most of these players are girls aged between nine to 16.

Once a players runs out of virtual cash, the contestant can send text messages costing 1.50 pounds each to top up their accounts.

While French dieticians and parents have condemned the sister website in France, the game's creators claim it is "harmless fun".

The game's developers also say that it builds on the success of Barbie, the Bratz dolls and Tamagotchis, the virtual pets invented in Japan.