The £250 toy robot that develops its own personality

Priced at £250, this is the Pleo - billed as the world's first "designer life form", but in fact a robot without the metallic edges and with appealing long-lashed eyes.

Created by the co-inventor of the Furby, the hi-tech toy is poised to become one of the biggest hits of 2007.



The plaything starts life as a one-week old "camarasaurus" cub and evolves through three different stages, becoming a juvenile and then an adolescent. All in the miraculous course of just three hours.

Its selling point is that the way it evolves is dependent on its surroundings, and how it is treated by its owner.

"You can treat it badly and it will become quite cantankerous, angry and frustrated," said a spokesman.

The creation has 2000 working parts and is covered in 35 sensors, that respond to changes in light and sound. It will walk around slowly to assess its surroundings and can cry when scared.