Lara Croft slims down to appeal to female games players

In an attempt to appeal to more female players, the creators of computer game icon Lara Croft have revamped her image to remove one of her most prominent and remarked-upon features - her large bust.

For years, Croft's gravity-defying chest, waspish waist and long legs have delighted teenage boys playing the various editions of Tomb Raider, the computer game in which she stars.

According to 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 been reduced to a more modest C-cup and some of her more revealing outfits have been ditched, the report said.

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

"Lara's been on a diet and she's definitely gone down a cup size, but she's still quite well proportioned," Toby Gard, the original creator of the character, told the paper.

Created in the mid-1990s, Croft's series of adventures have made huge profits for Eidos, and were turned into a pair of films starring US actress Angelina Jolie as the eponymous heroine.

However, the most recent Tomb Raider titles have fared less well. In March, shares in Eidos tumbled more than 30 per cent in a single day following speculation about a profit warning.