I'm pretty sure you already know that 99.9% of booth babes would probably think a "console" is what you do for someone who is sad. They are generally clueless about gamers and the industry. This is due to game companies using recruiting firms that use promotional models who work all kinds of conventions from medical equipment to exterminator supplies.

They have been told way too many times that they are a goddess when in fact, they are pretty but still human

They have an inside connection to one of the game's execs (if you know what I mean. *wink wink nudge nudge*) who got them that job so they feel they can act any way they want

They are hung over from the party you didn't get invited to the night before

Or they are just being a bitch and would behave that way in any job they had.

"This is an incredible opportunity for me and one which I plan to grasp with both hands" said Karima. "It's a huge challenge to follow in the footsteps of people like Nell McAndrew and Angelina Jolie, but life is all about challenges and this is perhaps the biggest one for a model and actress."

"Karima has all the assets needed to accurately portray the world's favourite female action hero" said Matt Gorman, Brand Controller for Tomb Raider. "Lara Croft Tomb Raider Legend sees Lara at the very height of her powers this makes Karima the 7th and most important Lara Croft yet."

Already tipped as 'the blockbuster video game for 2006' this will be the seventh game of English publisher Eidos' hit series and sees Lara Croft return to her tombraiding roots. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Tomb Raider is one of the best selling videogames of all time. Lara Croft has transcended games, entertainment and technology into action figures, comic books, adventure novels, and two major motion pictures.

Karima follows in the footsteps of previous Lara Croft stars, Lucy Clarkson, Rhona Mitra, Nell McAndrew, Vanessa Demouy, Lara Weller and of course Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movies.

Last year's pixel-based pictorial was an uncertain experiment. Nobody, including the magazine, knew how it would sell. And publishers weren't sure how the public would react to characters luring readers with come-hither looks.

The reaction -- on both fronts -- was beyond expectations. Playboy has expanded the feature this year (again including a series of articles about the industry, including its picks for this holiday's top games and a look at next generation machines). And finding potential models wasn't a problem.

"Last year, we were selling a new concept [to publishers]," said Alexander. "The response we got last year and the huge promotional bump resulted in companies lining up at our door. I literally had to turn away six or seven publishers."

The magazine's also trying to appeal to the collector nature of some gamers with the feature. Instead of running the digital divas on the slick magazine pages, the pictures are printed on removable 'trading cards'. All totaled, there are 8 cards (which can be turned over and assembled puzzle-like to reflect a larger ninth image). The trick is: Two versions of the magazine are being published, each with only four cards. If you want to see all the characters, you'll need to buy the magazine twice.

The look of Lara Croft has also changed. She looks far more like her original incarnation, rather than the busty heroine she morphed into for some of the later games.

This is due to the involvement of Lara's original creator, Toby Gard, in the game.

"Toby had an original vision for Lara," said Mr Gorman. "He has been able to put his vision into the game."

The level shown at E3 showed a more lifelike Lara exploring ruins and tombs, with the mix of fighting, leaping and puzzle-solving that has come to characterise Tomb Raider games.

But, according to today's edition of The Times newspaper, British computer game firm Eidos, which created Croft, has changed her physique to one less likely to put off female players.

In the soon-to-be-released Tomb Raider: Legend, the eighth title to feature Croft, her DD-size bust has reportedly been reduced to a more modest C-cup and some of her more revealing outfits have been ditched.

The adventurer even sports a modest round-neck sweater with full arms for part of the game, the paper said.