IT was the brain-teasing craze of the 80s that could be making a come-back. The Rubik's cube proved it was hip to be square after 150 million of the puzzles were sold worldwide before interest waned at the end of the last decade.

Hundreds of Southampton shoppers were invited to twist again at a roadshow outside the Bargate Centre to re-launch the mind-boggler.

Hungarian genius Erno Rubik has linked up with Peter Brennan, the 57-year-old boss of Cambridgeshire toy company Toy Brokers, to introduce his invention to a new generation.

This time around the three-inch high cube has been geared up for the 21st century, with versions including a CD-Rom puzzle and Rubik's Darth Maul heads from the new Star Wars film.

Shoppers flocked to the family road-show for thou-sands of pounds of give-aways, from games and balloons to T-shirts and play tents.

The Rubik costume character entertained children while kiddies and the young at heart took to the stage to meet the chal-lenge of trying to solve the cube and beat the clock. Fastest time of the day was an amazing 78 seconds by Brian Reade, 29, of Oakmount Avenue, Highfield.

The Southampton promotion was the penultimate leg of an eight-date national tour as part of the re-launch.

Toy Brokers' Peter Brennan said: "The Rubik Cube is the 20th century's most successful assault on people's mental health and it's still just as compulsive and frustrating as ever.

"There is a whole new generation of youngsters out there who could easily be Rubik champions.

"You don't have to be an Einstein - if five- and six-year-old children can do it, it is obvious you don't have to be a genius.

"A child has a better memory for learning a language, together with a very perceptive visual capability to identify colour and they are totally uninhibited about the challenge they face.

"For adults, it could be hours, days or even weeks of frustration, with a hammer perhaps as the final solution."

The cubes are in the shops now at £3.99 for a mini version and £8.95 for the standard model.

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