Worried about the little-ones running up big phone bills? Concerned about whom they are calling? Disney is launching a mobile phone in America that parents can control. You can make sure that family calls get priority, and you can even locate stray off-spring via global positioning.

I suspect that Disney’s phone will reassure a lot of anxious parents, especially with the location function, but I don’t think that teans will appreciate Mom and Dad going into league with Big Brother. It will be interesting to see how popular it becomes, and whether it will encourage parents to buy phones for even younger children. Remember - the jury is still out on whether mobile microwaves cook young brains.