Meet the Frag Dolls. Brookelyn, 26, Mischief, 24, Jinx, 25, and the six fellow members of their group may look like an all-girl band but they are at the vanguard of a demographic revolution that is transforming the gaming industry.

Girl gamers are the fastest-growing group in the fastest-growing sector of the entertainment industry. The Frag Dolls are so good at it that they play competitively, raking in winnings from the growing number of international competitions while proving with sassy style that gaming is really no longer a male preserve.

Yes, they look like a geek fantasy come true, but the statistics show that women are the new force to be reckoned with in gaming. Game, the high street video-game chain, reports that 30% more women bought games in the six months to July 31 than in the same period last year, and there are now more female owners of Nintendo’s handheld DS console in the UK than there are male (54% against 46%), says the research agency GameVision.

Partly as a result of the expanding appeal of computer games, the value of the UK game software market is expected to rise by 12% to £1.4 billion by the end of 2007, according to analysts Screen Digest.

Gaming is appealing to a broad demographic of old and young, male and female, and across the full social spectrum. Its growth is even threatening other forms of entertainment, including DVDs and cinema. The launch of the long-awaited new Halo 3 game from Microsoft for the Xbox 360 last month helps prove the point. According to its publisher, Halo 3 racked up more than £83m in global sales within just 24 hours – a record for any type of entertainment product, film included.

The film industry has felt the repercussions: the UK box office reported a 39% year-on-year drop in takings on the weekend of October 5, which coincided with Halo 3’s release.

Nintendo, the Japanese game manufacturer, has been quick to recognise that its customers no longer fall into the traditional gamer’s mould. Its Wii console and handheld DS have already cornered the new market with games such as the sudoku-heavy Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training and Nintendogs, the aim of which is to rear a litter of cute puppies.

Now the Japanese firm is to go a step further with a forthcoming release, predictably timed for the Christmas buying rush. Wii Fit, to be released in Japan in December, represents a new type of gaming in which players take part in aerobics-style activities and yoga on a special balance board connected to the console. That’s about as far away as you can get from the traditional image of couch-potato gamers hunched over a screen.

No wonder, then, that last week Nintendo quietly announced it had become the third most valuable company in Japan (behind Toyota Motor Corporation and Mitsubishi), its stock having risen to £42 billion.

Gadget lovers will be able to inspect this year’s finest gizmos, including the Apple iPhone, at the Best of Stuff and What Hi-Fi Show 2007, to be held at the Novotel hotel in Hammersmith, London, from November 2-4. For more information visit www.bestofstuff.co.uk.

TALKING HEAD
Parrot SK4000 Bluetooth helmet headset
£129
www.parrot.co/uk
0161 868 0868

A conventional hands-free phone kit is as much use on a motorbike as an ashtray. This clever Parrot gizmo, available from next March, claims to enable motorcyclists to make or receive calls and even change music tracks without removing their gloves. The kit comprises a hands-free earpiece with boom-style microphone that clips onto a standard helmet, plus a remote control that attaches to the bike’s left handlebar. The headset contains an FM radio but will also connect to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. You can even plug in an MP3 player via a standard 3.5mm audio socket. It’s a clever idea and Parrot makes a variety of fine Bluetooth gadgets, but there are potential impracticalities. Despite the maker’s claims of a wind-shielded microphone, previous experience suggests this could prove noisy, and earpieces are often uncomfortable to wear inside a helmet. If Parrot has resolved these issues then this is a boon for bikers.

WACS LYRICAL
Philips WAC3500D Streamium Wireless Music Centre (Wac)
£299
www.streamium.philips.com
0906 1010 016

Computer-phobes who aspire to the conveniences of digital music will be intrigued by this gadgety Philips hi-fi. The Wac can play CDs and convert them into MP3 files – at various quality levels – which are then stored on its 80GB hard drive. If the Wac is connected to the internet these files are automatically named too. The Philips contains an iPod dock and a wi-fi receiver to wirelessly play music stored on its hard drive on up to five “receiver stations” dotted around the home (£100 extra each). Arguably a computer can be set up with a conventional hi-fi to do the same things, but the Wac is cheaper and simpler.

GRIPPING IDEA
Black & Decker Autowrench
£30
www.blackanddecker.co.uk
01753 511 234

As any DIY nut knows, there are times when it is simply not possible to use both hands to tighten the jaws of a wrench. In which case, reach for the Autowrench. Place the jaws around a nut or bolt (of up to 1.25in), prod a button in the middle of the handle and it reduces to the correct size. Press the other end of this button, and it snap-releases. The jaws can of course be tightened manually instead and the tool’s lurid orange livery makes it easy to spot in a toolbag. In brief tests the Autowrench proved effective, and though pricey it could well get you out of a tight spot.

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