My Princess Di paper dolls didn&8217;t last as long as I wanted them to.

Small paper tabs only fold so many times before they crumble off, and even royal paper has its limits.

More than 15 years later, little girls have it a lot easier.

It&8217;s not Princess Di anymore, but instead Camilla Parker-Bowles. And it&8217;s not paper at all.

Try stardoll.com. &8220;Your paper doll heaven,&8221; it says. But really it&8217;s more like &8220;your click and drag heaven.&8221;

The girly girl Web site offers hundreds of underwear-only clad superstars waiting for their fashion makeover. They each come with a cluttered closet of about 20 outfits, shoes and accessories. Some even have wigs. Dressing them is as simple as selecting the clothes and dragging them onto the body. No paper tabs to worry about here.

Camilla Parker-Bowles is listed, but I&8217;m guessing she doesn&8217;t get much attention these days (from this country, anyway).

It was singers Aaliyah and Ashanti getting the makeovers in the back of Ms. Bell&8217;s room Tuesday.

Sidney helped Destini set up a Stardoll account. (They eventually got caught up on the part that requires parental permission.) Destini needed a few pointers from Sidney &8212; who obviously uses the program at home &8212; but for the most part, she figured it out.

The Web site also lets children &8212; it says its prime users are girls ages 7 to 17 &8212; keep a private diary online and link friends and send messages. Sidney had several recent messages.

The Stardoll FAQ addresses all the security concerns overprotective, involved parents typically have, and it asks for parent approval (including a faxed in form) before children can formally join the online community.

To someone raised in the Internet generation like me, the Web site sounds as safe as they come. (I&8217;m sure some of you out there disagree.)

It truly is a generational thing. This is the new way to play. Sure, kids still need the real thing &8212; and they get it, some. But look at the positives: No torn paper doll tabs, no paper clothes strewn across the living room floor for mom to pick up and easy access from most locations. Internet games are here to stay.

And they should be. Perhaps Destini and Sidney were wasting time Tuesday. (They&8217;d finished their test already.) Yes, they could have spent the time reading a book. But the experience wasn&8217;t void of learning.

The girls filled out an online membership form, chose a password they would be sure to remember and followed the proper prompts to get what they wanted. Sound like a day at the office for you? Does for me.

Working with computers is old hat to most of us now. Life without computers is non-existent to Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s fourth-graders. Because these kids are familiar with computers and the Internet now &8212; Sidney has three e-mail addresses &8212; they&8217;ll be ready to grow with it over the years. They&8217;ll be the ones writing new software and designing new programs. Somebody came up with Internet paper dolls. Who knows what they&8217;ll come up with next.

In the meantime, try Camilla with the blue dress, white bow, white gloves and tiara.

Julie Finley

is the managing editor for The Natchez Democrat. She writes a weekly column based on experiences with Marty Tuccio&8217;s homeroom class at McLaurin Elementary. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or

julie.finley@natchezdemocrat.com

.