Mattel and Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) announced today that Dora the Explorer is growing up. The new Dora doll is called Dora Links doll and connects to a PC. With the new doll a new online service called Dora's Explorer Girls gets launched.
The Dora's Explorer Girl service is accessed with the Dora Links fashion doll. The doll connects to a PC and kids can change the look of the doll online. Apparently the Dora Links fashion doll changes as well in the real world. It is not revealed what can change on the Dora Links doll and how it looks. Nickelodeon and Mattel plan to keep Dora’s new look a secret until the brand launch in Fall 2009. That is why you just see this image of a silhouette.

As tweenage Dora, the heroine has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look.
Besides changing the look of Dora, Dora's Explorer Girl online world also lets kids explore, play games, customize, and most importantly solve mysteries with Dora and her new friends.

The Dora Links fashion doll, for children five years and up, will retail for approximately $59.99.

Dora the Explorer has been one of the most successful properties for nearly a decade, with an average of 21.1 million viewers, including 6 million preschoolers, tuning into the television show each month.

Update:
Dore Links Doll ships September 29th. You can pre-order it now from Amazon.com.
Update September 29th:
The Dora Links Doll is Shipping, get it now before it is sold out.