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Show Page C2 THE DAILY HLRALD. Pro. luh. Sdiurdiv (Dairtooini August 21. w creates ffireinizy, ffiigitoftiinig dioQS boh marketing vehicle for bread, tofu dishes, pins, gold necklaces, telephones and just about anything else manufacturers can think of. The doll and related products brought Sanrio more than $1.1 billion in revenues for the fiscal year ending in March. Exports came to $70 million, an 11.9 percent increase, with the biggest overseas sales from the 200 U.S. retail outlets that sell Hello Kitty merchandise. By ANNIE HUANG A.ncufd Pro met It has TAIPEI, Taiwan caused fights at McDonalds. Its image on a credit card brought a stampede on banks. Other desperate customers have turned to the black market. Hello Kitty has caused a frenzy in Taiwan. The soft plush doll of a w hite based on a cartoon kitty character has turned into a r business for its Co. of Japan, Sanrio creator, and for companies that use the doll to plug their products. The allure is simple, fans say. "I don't iiiiiid all the fuss raised by the doll. I only know , it is cute," said Lin a secondary-schoo- l girl who snapped up a pair of giveaway dolls from McDonald's after standing in line for three hours. billion-dolla- Shu-chih- In Taiwan, consumers have caused a storm in their rush to pick up the dolls and anything with its image. Lines of new depositors seeking the Hello Kitty paraphernalia were so long outside Makoto's 50 branches that worried there some passers-bwas a run on the bank. Many McDonald's branches reported scuffles in long lines. One branch in a museum had to close temporarily because of the chaos. A pair of dolls of Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel, her boyfriend, can fetch up to $74 on the black market, or 10 times the original price. And counterfeits have been turning up. Some Taiwanese are wary about a cultural invasion by a Japanese firm. And they question how Taiwan has deteriorated from a hot spot of 10 years ago to one engulfed by imported dolls. y Stress relief WALLY Some say the doll provides relief from rising stress levels as Taiwanese grow more prosperous but work harder. Others say it's a comfort amid rising tensions with China in the latest war of words across the Strait of Taiwan. The lovely Hello Kitty doll helps us relax a little," said Chou Nien-yung- , a manager at Ma koto Bank, one of the businesses that helped the craze spread to the island by using Taiwan SANTANA The Associated Press Taiwanese man touches a Hello Kitty promotional doll at a McDonald's restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday. The demand for Hello Kitty in Taiwan is so great that there's a black market for the business for their inventor, Sanrio Co. of Japan, and are bringing toys. They've turned into a billion-dolla- r in big sales for companies that pay to put Hello Kitty's likeness on their products. Demand: A the doll as a marketing tool. The doll started in Japan, where the Hello Kitty image has for nearly 25 years been put on everything from stationery to lunchboxes. Now the character is spreading across Asia and even sees big sales in the United States. McDonald's selected the doll for promotions in its Asian and Pacific outlets this year. Mskoto Bank began printing the doll on checkbooks and credit cards in an attempt to change the stiff and aloof image of Taiwanese financial institutions. And Sanrio shifted its keting strategy. Previously, Hello Kitty had been targeted solely at children. Then three years ago Sanrio found a new market: women drawn to products that looked more feminine. toy-maki- Marketer's dream Now the doll has become a mar- - do that can be more helpful. Ann Y. of Fort Wayne, Ind. The most important skills a child needs are to be able to listen, follow directions and speak. It is also very important that he learns to work with others. Begin with the simple things, and the child will pick up many skills necessary for kindergarten. I read with my son and emphasize the different sounds and pictures in the books. Let the child be actively involved by allowing him to turn. a page or point to a picture. Ask questions while read- - WEB links and lists. A highlight: the Kosher restaurant database. Knight Ridder Newspapers What skills do kids need before kindergarten? Q. Don't worry about specific skills in preparing your child for kindergarten. Read to your child every day from the day you come home from the hospital. There is nothing you can place to peek at the day's Christian Science Monitor, one of America's best national newspapers. EASTERN ORTHODOX http :ww w. goarch.org Most Orthodox Christians in the United States trace their ancestry to Greece. This official Web site of the New Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America offers daily news updates, a list of feast days honoring saints, a parish directory and a chat room. HINDUS http:www.hindunet.org It calls itself "the Hindu Universe" for a reason. This complete Web site includes a list of temples, a chat room, kid stuff and classifieds. On the York-base- d more philosophical side, it cov- ers everything from languages (Sanskrit, Hindi, etc.) to gods, sages and gurus. JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES http:www.watchtower.org The official Web site of Jehovah's Witnesses, whose and members go door to door now, computer to computer. "What does God require of us?" is among the questions this site tackles. JEWS http:www.clickonjudaism.o rg A splashy but introspective site geared to young Jews for answers. searching l It C From Jodie: PROTESTANTS http:www.sbc.net http:www.lds.org i il Ui l ful sections with catchy titles: "Doing Jewish," "Making a Difference," "Facing Today's World" and "Searching for God." http:www.jhom.com JHOM is short for Jewish Heritage Online Magazine. There's a topic of the month, weekly takes on the Torah, comics, free greeting cards and ' an engaging reading group sec- tion. http:www.shamash.org The best place for Jewish Available in 19 languages Samoan and this site of an Tongan), American-borreligion that's international makes for gone interesting reading. There's a primer on its members' basic beliefs and a whole section on tracing your family history including information about the church's new genealogy site on the Internet. MUSLIMS http:www.islam.org "IslamiCity" is one of the best sites around. It includes a the stuff you'd expect Koran search and the basics about the Pillars of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. But there are also photos of mosques around the world, audio and video treats (narration, in Farsi, of the most beautiful names for Allah), and an "Ask the Imam" column. (including n An By now, most kindergart-ner- s know the alphabet, and many can write the letters. I'm still a firm believer in the magnet alphabet letters placed on the refrigerator. They can see them several times a day and play with them. They also teach colors and enhance fine motor skills by taking them off and on the fridge. This helps coordination build hand-ey- e and balancing skills, which are a must for correctly holding a Reading, talking, asking questions and getting a child involvedin everything possible will provide a healthy boost to readiness for kindergarten, and life in general. MORMONS Continued from CI Z ing. This allows the child's mind to formulate a response and make a connection between what you are reading and the question. Ferdousi Gramling of Madison, Wis. ' America. Its focus is on missions and education. The official Web site of the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination. You'll find daily Scripture readings and Q&As about God's eternal plan. http:www.baptist.org The best guide to all things Baptist. There's an audio Bible, a list of Baptist churches, a sampling from Baptist news services, links to Baptist Web sites, "soul winning messages" and to a shortcut http:www.umc.org If you're a member of the second country's largest Protestant denomination, United Methodists, this official Web site can help you locate UMC churches and schools around the country. There's also a virtual church library, denominational news, and a chance to shop online at a Methodist bookstore. http:www.elca.org The official Web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There's the usual chat rooms, info on congregations, articles from periodicals. But there's more, including an online discussion for kids about the lessons in the latest "Star Wars" saga. http:www.lcms.org The official Web site of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. A highlight: Online TheTenCommandments.org. http:www.pcusa.org Presbyterian pioneers settled Mecklenburg County. Their modern brethren in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are staking out territory on the Internet. Their site features chat rooms, daily readings, news releases and a congregation index. http:www.pcanet.org The official Web site of the more conservative of Church Presbyterian The Dairy Herald OREM Ancestry.com, the premier resource for tracing family history online, announces the addition of the Biography Database to its collection of ever-growin- g research databases. This addition brings the total number of records on Ancestry.com to 276 million. Compiled by Avero Publications Ltd., and available online exclusively through Ancestry.com, the biography database contains data from both the United Kingdom and the United The' States, dated data features town directories stemming from the century and book subscription lists providing local informa-- , tion for the years prior to the development of true directo-ries- . Also included in the database are society membership lists as well as journals, providing details of births, marriages and deaths. "This massive collection of information provides an invaluable tool to genealogical research," said Curt Allen, president and CEO of 1680-183- mid-18t- Ancestry.com. 'This database is intriguing because it goes , beyond mere dates and reveals more intimate insights about one's ancestors." The addition of this data- - Reading, working on motor skills prepare children for kindergarten By JODIE LYNN Ancestry.com adds 2 million new names ? to database pencil. Working puzzles also can help develop the strength and steadiness to use scissors (which can be very frustrating to a kindergartener if he feels behind the others in cutting). By the way, these fine motor skills in the fingers often develop a little later in boys, or those who use their left hand. But by all means, if your child prefers the left hand over the right, let him do it his way. base makes available biographical sources that previously were too large and too for practical consultation. The database allows genealogists to trace individuals and families by birth, death, marriage, occupation, reading interests, offices held, children and social groups. The biography database ig accessible to Ancestry.com subscribers. , d 5(7 820ff Store Regular Prices Department r Save $149 On Casio Digital Organizers with PC Link Stay on track and easily transfer data to and from PLs running Windows with the 25bKB electronic organizer. Functions include directory, calendar, schedule keeper, alarms, multi-lingumessages, expense reports, calculator, currency conversion, games and more. tomes complete with two o.b diskettes, I AAA interface batteries, cable and manual. Retail $199.95 $. 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