THEY'RE glamorous, hip and techno-savvy but they still love a ginger beer after a day's adventures.

Meet Jyoti, Dylan, Max, Allie and Timmy the dog - the new Famous Five, offspring of Enid Blyton's original quintet.

The new gang are to feature in a new Disney Channel cartoon series, bringing the famous children's tales into the 21st century.

Much of the inspiration for Blyton's original books came from her frequent visits to Dorset, with Corfe Castle and Brownsea Island, among others, cropping up in the novels under different names.

Though no specific location is given for the setting of the new TV series, the gang are brought together at their Aunt George's house "on the English coast".

Certainly Purbeck tourism believes the new series could re-ignite interest in the area's links with the famous books.

"Anything that highlights the work of Enid Blyton is good for Purbeck," said tourism officer Holly Lagden.

"We are certainly happy, even if it's not the traditional Famous Five.

"It's a shame it won't be like the series we all remember, but at least it means the younger generation are being exposed to Enid Blyton."

The new series features Anglo-Indian Jyoti, Jo for short, the tomboy leader of the team, like her mother George.

Allie is the Californian shopaholic daughter of Anne, who moved to the States to become an art dealer, and shares her mother's reluctance for adventure.

Dick's son Dylan scours the stock market on his wireless laptop, Max, son of Julian, is described as an adventure junkie, while Timmy the dog remains relatively unaffected.

Their first cartoon caper - due to be screened in May - finds the Five on the case of a phoney environmentalist running a pirate DVD operation, embedding subliminal messages to make children buy candy.

Steve Aranguren, vice president of global original programming for the Disney Channel, said: "We wanted to bring the sense of adventure in the original books to a new generation of Famous Five fans.

"However, we needed to give the characters a contemporary voice."

The new animated series was given the seal of approval by Blyton's oldest daughter, Gillian Baverstock, before her death at the age of 76 last year.

First published in 1942, the Famous Five books still sell in excess of a million copies each year.

Purbeck council publish an Enid Blyton Country leaflet, detailing locations from the novels.

It can be picked up from the tourist information centres in Wareham and Swanage.