Intel engineers are building toys at a skunkworks which Mattel, makers of Barbie and Ken, The Washington Post reports. The deal, according to the often amusing piece, is because kids of today want challenging and innovative toys rather than those tired old favourites, dolls and guns. Intel Play, the existence of which we have already reported, has already launched four products in the US, including a rather snazzy $99.99 computer microscope. It is unclear whether this microscope is powered by a Coppermine chip. These products are likely to become the sine qua non for Eurokids, probably later on this year. According to the WP piece, which quotes an editor of a Toy publication, the Intel brand is like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Brokered by Intel chairman Andy Grove and Mattel CEO Jill Barad, other products likely to arrive this year will include a sound morpher and a digital movie creator. You can find the Washington Post article here. ®