FROM BARBIE TO MORTAL KOMBAT: GENDER AND COMPUTER GAMES

FROM BARBIE TO MORTAL KOMBAT: GENDER AND COMPUTER GAMES Edited by Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins (MIT Press, $35) Since 1997 was dubbed ''the year for girls'' in the software industry, girl games have become a booming business. This comprehensive volume examines girlware and its discontents from every angle: The editors explain the movement's origins and profile both its instigators and its detractors, such as female action gamers who find ''pink'' software patronizing. Should parents give girls Barbie-esque fluff to lure them into computer literacy, push empowerment titles, or simply let them eat Quake? There's no easy answer, but the book does a fine job of unpacking the issues. A-