Electronics will ad spark to US toy sales

A Dora the Explorer doll that says a child's name, a TV game that lets girls color their hair, and other electronic toys may be among the best-selling holiday items in the United States this year, according to a list to be published in Redbook magazine.

The toys, Dora Knows Your Name by Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price unit and Radica Games Ltd.'s Digi Make-Over Plug `n Play TV Game, are among the ``Hot 20" chosen by Toy Insider, a supplement that will appear in the November issue of Redbook. T.M.X. Elmo, unveiled last week after months of secrecy, made Toys ``R" Us Inc.'s ``Hot Toy" list, released yesterday.

Sales of traditional toys such as dolls and board games have fallen as children turn increasingly to video games and iPod music players.

Sales of ``youth electronics," which exclude video games, are up 23 percent so far this year, the most of any category, said Anita Frazier, an analyst at the NPD Group Inc., a market-research firm.