IT CRIES, it coos, it eats and it sleeps.

This is the latest must-have toy from the North Yorkshire company that brought us Pokmon and the Furby.

Robo Baby is an interactive infant distributed by Harrogate-based Tiger Electronics and it should be in the shops in time for the all-important Christmas market.

The cyber baby acts just like a real one - crawling, cooing when it's happy, crying when it's not; it eats and sleeps, needs feeding and also has to have a nappy change.

It responds to touch through internal sensors that detect rocking and nappy changing.

In infancy, Robo Baby will make baby-like sounds, but with more time and attention it turns into a walking, talking toddler.

Robo-Baby even speaks 20 basic infant words, interacts with other Robo-Baby toys and will show you how he or she feels by the look in his or her eyes.

After the Furby craze a few years ago, which led to frantic shopping and second-hand black market dealing, Tiger is hoping to do the same again with its latest product.

Robo Baby boys, which are blue, and girls, which are pink, are expected to sell for £24.99 and will be available from October. They are suitable for children aged four years and upwards.

Updated: 10:06 Saturday, September 01, 2001