A range of Barbie dolls, which have been inspired - if that is the right word - by the style of Bollywood, is soon to hit the high streets of Britain.

The dolls have been imported into the UK from India by Sair Mir, the managing director of Mir Media, and are said by Mr Mir to be based on the looks and costumes of actress Aishwarya Rai. As he confirmed: "Aishwarya and all her outfits were a major inspiration for modelling these dolls, especially from her film Devdas where she looked sensational".

As an aside, it should be noted that, last year, the glorious Ms Rai featured in a list of the world's 50 most beautiful women. This year, she has been replaced by Parminder Nagra, of Bend it like Beckham fame.

There is no truth in the rumour that, with this shattering news, Mr Mir is hastily remodelling his entire doll collection.

As he explained, impervious to the above:"We have used Bollywood, and India's rich cultural heritage, to put a lot of intricate detail into these dolls' outfits, using silks, embroidery and jewellery".

The Indian Barbie collection features looks and costumes from all corners of the Indian sub-continent, from the Punjab to Gujarat to Rajasthan. There is also an Indian Diva collection, dressed in the latest ethnic kurtas.

The original Barbie doll first saw the light of day way back in 1959, and, since that fateful day, her empire has grown to encircle the world (a bit like America itself then) with cultural and ethnic varieties in Europe and the Far East.

Variations of the Barbie doll are now on sale in no less than 150 countries and, since she took her bow in 1959, she and her friends have appeared dressed in close to a billion different fashions. But, until now at any rate, India has been immune to the charms of the great satan - sorry, beautiful doll.

But Mr Mir is sure that his new range of Indian style Barbie dolls will make perfect presents for Asian women - of all ages - and he also hopes that they will help young Asian girls embrace their culture and heritage in ways that the original blonde haired and blue eyed creation could never do.

The only, burning, question that remains is: what will Indian Barbie's husband be called? Somehow, Ken just doesn't sound quite right...