Techie toys for a perv-proof future

NEW YORK -- At first blush, Mattel's IM-Me text messenger for girls seems to represent just another attempt at placing adult technology in underage hands.

But the wireless texting device -- a CrackBerry for little princesses -- addresses an interesting challenge for the increasingly tech-heavy toy industry: How do you get kids on the internet but protect them from the perverts, pedophiles and phishers that give parents nightmares?

At the sprawling American International Toy Fair here at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, several companies are grappling with the problem.

IM-Me, which is marketed under Mattel's high-tech Radica brand, consists of a small, pink handheld device and an RF dongle that jacks into the USB port of a parental PC.

The system allows little girls to text-message one another while shielding them from the perils of the wider web: You can only chat with someone who's already been added to your address book, and then only if you're within dongle range.

"This is part of what I like to call 'safe online portalling,'" says Reyne Rice, the official trend forecaster for the Toy Industry Association, the trade group that runs the fair.