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What does your copy of New Scientist have in common with a packet of
cornflakes? Simple—they both carry bar codes that can be used to create
new generations of aliens in hand-held games. Radica, a games-machine maker
based in Los Angeles, has developed a console with a bar code reader on the
back. You scan in any bar code you can find and the console uses it to “evolve”
a new alien monster. When two players link their consoles together, whatever
creatures are inside fight to the death. The challenge is to find the coolest
bar code that makes…

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