The UK girl-oriented gadget site Shiny Shiny has just posted a 'Top ten list of female video-game characters you should idolise' - and that appears to be in a more positive fashion than your average countdown.

Blogger Katherine Hannaford notes: "Whatever happened to having some nice wholesome girl-next-door type characters to idolise, that you can happily play a game featuring the vixen infront of your Dad, and not fear an embarassing pants-tent episode?... I've put together a list of who I think deserves to be on the Shiny Shiny Top Ten List Of Gaming Vixens who aren't just featured for their 34-24-34 ratio and ability to knock out a vertically-challenged man with a simple quiver of the lady-lumps." Fair enough!

Here's one pick I especially liked, in theory: "2.) Carla Valenti from Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy - the NYPD officer is incredibly committed to her job, to the point of experiencing panic attacks. Wielding a weapon, she is a tough-talking woman who yearns for a private life, instead pouring all her waking hours into her job - the modern careerwoman."

But of course, Carla's presumably male inventors made her pose, virtually speaking, for Playboy in 2005, negating her carefully empowered game character in all manner of ways, and re-proving the whole point Shiny Shiny was making to start with - doh! [Via Wonderland.]