As the 2000 International Toy Fair closes in New York, it's clear that toy manufacturers around the world have arrived in the digital age. Since Microsoft introduced its computerized Teletubby (ActiMates) toy line at last year's fair, the market has been flooded with an astounding array of role playing CD ROM games, automated story readers, interactive dolls, virtual pets and electronically enhanced gadgets designed to make your child's playtime more educational, and entertaining.

Playmate's hit e-toy, Amazing Ally, is now more realistic and interactive than ever -- she responds to sounds detected via infrared sensor and moves her mouth when she speaks. Numerous companies, including Intel and Sony have also entered the market with robotic pets and dolls that can learn and respond to their environment.

In an effort to help parents wade through the sea of e-toy options, Consumer Reports recently studied the effectiveness of 30 electronic toys. During the test, they observed children playing with the toys and watched to see if any were difficult to use or became boring. They also interviewed the children about which ones they enjoyed most.

The big winner in the toddler age group was VTECH's Tip N' Stack Turtle ($13), an electronic version of the traditional stacking rings game we grew up with back in the 1900s. The cone is mounted on a cute little electronic turtle and, if your child stacks the colored rings correctly, it generates flashing lights and sound effects. VTECH also won kids over with the Little Smart Baby Blossom ($10 -- three months and up), which allows infants to shake a rattle, spin a ball or make lights flash by sliding a window back and forth. It also generates songs, greetings and giggles. Unfortunately, the unit has no volume control.

Other favorites in the 3-and-under category were Parker Brother's electronic Mr. Potato Head ($25), which teaches your child different dress-up games at two skill levels, and Neurosmith's MusicBlocks ($70), a set of blocks in which each block plays an instrumental variation of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik. MusicBlocks are good for helping kids develop cognitive skills, because even very small children can make musical compositions by arranging the blocks in different ways.

Popular with the pint-sized programmers in the group was VTECH's Little Smart PC, a kid-sized computer, and Little Smart Count'N Call Phone, a toy cell phone that helps children learn to count, memorize their home number, and call 911. The Little Smart PC features a mouse mode, an LCD screen and large buttons.

Surprisingly, very few children choose Microsoft's ActiMates ($60) as their favorite toy. ActiMates, which are interactive dolls based on characters from the popular PBS series, Teletubbies, feature a small LCD screen in their tummies. They also play games and sing songs when children squeeze their hands or feet. With the optional TV Pack ($55) the Tubbies can interact with the Television shows or videos. Consumer Reports did not indicate if the children in the study group were familiar with the show. Doubtless, ActiMates are a big hit with little fans of the program.

Leap Frog ($55), a storybook offered by LeapPad Learning Center, reads words, syllables and sounds when your child moves its stylus over a word or picture, but also was not very popular with the youngest children.

Playmate's interactive doll, Amazing Ally, was very well received, though it is probably best suited for children older than 3. Ally isn't like the talking dolls we grew up with, where you have to pull a string to make her talk. Alley's high capacity central processing unit and 32 megabits of internal voice memory help her to tell stories, play games, think and remember things (like holidays, and your child's birthday). Ally is fully expandable, of course, and can be upgraded with more intelligence, memory, stories and adventures with Playmate's AdventureWare packets.

It's easy for a parent to feel overwhelmed when faced with this armada of digitized toys. There are also questions like, "Do I want my child to form a meaningful relationship with a miniature android?" and, "Do 'smart toys' actually make smarter kids?"

Some child psychologists suggest that electronic toys minimize the variety of stimulus children receive, and reduce their play to a simplistic set of push-button responses. Others believe that it is important to help kids orient themselves to life in the electronic age.

Dr. Erik Strommen, head of R&D in Microsoft's Interactive Toy Group, argues that "Children's lives are now highly mediated by electronics. For kids to feel confident in the modern high-tech world, their toys need to reflect the complexity of that world. Really, kids want to be active, and technology is an active thing."

One thing that most experts seem to agree on is that while electronic toys can help provide fun educational play, the important thing is that parents are involved in their child's playtime.

Dr. Seymour Papert, the LEGO Professor of Learning Research at MIT's Media Lab, suggests that parents ask themselves some questions when choosing toys:

* Does it allow my child to be engaged in a long-term project where he/she takes control of constructing something?

* Can I get involved with my child in what's being done?

Whether you choose to help your kids build a house with Lincoln Logs or help them to log-on, be careful you aren't choosing toys that are more fun for you than for your child.