In this edition: a Barbie book sparks outrage among web users in the US; New York City is considering a crackdown on costumed characters in Times Square; and a preview of the tallest roller coaster in the world.

BARBIE BOOK SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE
When American blogger Pamela Ribon came across the Barbie “I can be a computer engineer” book at a friend`s house, she was shocked by what she read. As she reports on her blog, there are a number of passages in the book, published in 2010, where Barbie is having a lot of problems with her computer. Problems solved by her male friends. Outraged by what she described as insulting and sexist content, Pamela Ribon took her grievances online.
Soon after she published her blog, the #FeministHackerBarbie hashtag began trending on Twitter with social networkers voicing their anger and also rewriting the storyline of the controversial book. Hundreds of web users, male and female, have joined in. The trend has been driven by real life computer engineer Kathleen Tuite who created a purpose built website, where people can replace the original text with their own suggestions to render the comic book less sexist.
And in view of the online backlash, the owner of the Barbie brand, Mattel, has announced the offending book has been withdrawn from sale. The company posted a statement to its Facebook page apologizing for any offense caused, claiming it has always encouraged little girls the world over to be believe that they can achieve anything if they put their mind to it.
NYC CONSIDERING CRACKDOWN ON COSTUMED CHARACTERS
Some of the costumed characters in New York City`s Times Square have been accused of being too pushy, harassing tourists and passers-by and insisting on tips in exchange for a photo... Go on reading on our web site.
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