Cast your mind back to 1996. It was the year a terrorist bomb destroyed Manchester city centre, OJ Simpson was on trial for murder, and four young women called the Spice Girls took the UK charts by storm. Within months, Girl Power was everywhere.

What a difference 11 years make. Yet with the Spice Girls variously married, divorced, bulimic or just plain invisible, there’s one woman out there who is still marching alone under the girl power banner. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the gun-toting and ferociously buxom archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft.

Since 1996, Lara has been the star of eight game titles and been brought to life on screen by Angelina Jolie in two thin but effective Hollywood films. This week, Lara celebrates her birthday with a new game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which goes right back to celebrate the origins of this phenomenally popular character. Given that the last game in the series, Tomb Raider: Legend, sold more than 2.6 million copies within a month of release, the pressure to live up to fans’ expectations is high.

But who are those fans? There is a popular belief that Lara appeals only to young males. It’s a view that is quickly shredded by the new game’s chief designer, Ian Livingstone. “Forty per cent of the people who play Tomb Raider are women,” he says. “Men like Lara because she is a strong, athletic, intelligent and sexy adventuress. And women like her for exactly the same reasons!”

Karima Adebibe, a 22-year-old London-based model who plays Lara Croft at fans’ conventions worldwide, is similarly adamant about the appeal of the character. “I love the fact that this game encourages young men to live through an adventure while playing the part of a woman. And for women, well, here’s someone who’s highly educated, speaks 12 languages and has all the best qualities of a man and a woman combined. No character could be a better role model.”

Given Lara’s, shall we say, sculpted looks, it’s hard to think of her in this way, but then, says Livingstone, “She never set out to be a role model.Obviously she has a curvaceous figure but at least she is not a size zero! The important thing is that Lara Croft is enjoyed by millions of gamers, in the same way that James Bond has appealed to millions of film buffs.”

Unlike Bond, though, there will only ever be one “real” Lara, a digitally rendered perfect specimen whom age cannot wither. The same thing, however, cannot be said for her fans. Is it possible to continue to appeal to younger players while satisfying the demands of the older ones?

“Lara’s appeal has broadened over the years to include male and female, young and old,” says Livingstone. “We have in the past considered a separate franchise for older players, but currently have no plans to develop one.”

So just what does the future hold for Lara Croft? Well, Adebibe has just signed up for another year of fan-based activity, and there are rumours of a script for a third film doing the Hollywood rounds. Perhaps Lara will get her own cinematic “reboot”, like Batman and Bond. Or perhaps she doesn’t need one. As games consoles become ever more sophisticated, a future Lara will be able to fulfil every games player’s dream, and offer a fully interactive cinema experience. By that time, the first generation of Lara lovers may be pushing retirement. And Lara? She’ll still be swinging from the vines.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is out on PlayStation 2