Barbie under siege from book gaffe and rival doll

New York

MATTEL Inc's Barbie is facing a double dose of flak this week after a book featuring her was branded as sexist and a new rival doll with more realistic looks - including acne and stretch marks - ramped up its marketing.

After a Barbie book called I Can Be a Computer Engineer depicted the doll as less technically savvy than her male peers, Twitter and Facebook users called it an offensive portrayal of women. Mattel apologised for the book, which was published in 2010, and it was yanked from Amazon.com and other outlets.