At the annual merchandising shindig in New York going on this week, industry retailers are absolutely bananas over a slew of new toys.

For the teenyboppers, Tiger Electronics' has introduced HitClips, an MP3-like device featuring prerecorded music from such artists as *NSYNC and Britney Spears. Mattel also revealed its *NSYNC-themed Uno game.

     More confirmed tour dates have been released. Tickets for the first five tour dates have already gone on sale through Ticketmaster.com. Buy tickets for the six new dates this Saturday, February 17th @ 10:00amET. Tickets are $25.50, $45.50 or $65.50 plus service charges.

Previously announced tour dates that have already gone on sale
May 12, Miami, Pro Player Stadium
May 15, Tampa, Fla., Tropicana Field
May 18, Jacksonville, Fla., Alltel Stadium
May 20, Jackson, Miss., Mississippi Veteran's Memorial Stadium
May 26, Hershey, PA, Hershey Park Stadium

New confirmed tour dates that go on sale on Sat. Feb 17th
May 28, Hershey, PA, Hershey Park Stadium
June 3, East Rutherford, NJ, Giants Stadium
June 10, Buffalo, NY, Ralph Wilson Stadium
June 19, Toronto, ON, SkyDome
July 4, Little Rock, AR, War Memorial Stadium
July 8, Irving, TX, Texas Stadium

Bob the Builder, Bob's Building Yard
(Hasbro; $29.99; fall)
Barely a month after the animated show debuted on Nickelodeon, Bob is a hit with preschoolers. The toys are generating a lot of buzz, says Chris Byrne, editor of Toy Book's Toy Report, an industry consultant. "It's been a big hit in England, and it's tested phenomenally well" in the United States.

Battlebots
(Hasbro's Tiger Electronics unit; $29.99; fall)
Based on Comedy Central's hit robotic-combat series, these radio-controlled plastic 'bots don't battle to the death, but they stop working after receiving a certain number of hits. "It's just a cool, cool toy," Byrne says.

Harry Potter 3-D Hogwarts Game
(Mattel; $29.99; September)
Hogwarts School of Wizardry is Harry's school in the popular series of children's books and the coming movie, based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The game, in which players collect school supplies and learn spells, should boost Mattel's bottom line, says Dean Gianoukos, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York. "Harry Potter will be Mattel's big brand," he says.

Rock-A-Bye Chou Chou
(Zapf Creations; $34.99; fall)
Zapf, a German company whose U.S. operations are based in Orlando, "is a quiet, little success story," says Jim Silver, publisher of the buying guide Toy Wishes. This realistic-looking doll cries and slowly closes her eyes as she falls asleep.

Orlando-based boy band 'N Sync donated $100,000 to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women Thursday. The money was raised from the group's second annual celebrity basketball game. "Challenge for the Children" raised $550,000 for several different charities last year. The stars presented dolls of themselves and signed autographs for hospitalized children. The group even sang "Happy Birthday" to a girl. "It's going to make a difference in the kids' lives. It's going to heal their little bodies much more quickly," foundation Chairman Dr. Gregory Alexander said.

'N Sync said that they hoped to raise even more money this July with an extended charitable event in Las Vegas.

The group said that they are working on their new album, which is still untitled.