Competitor Emerges for eToys.

Toys R Us Inc. announced the debut of BabiesRUs.com, a division of its brick-and-mortar infant store that will be brought online to challenge Santa Monica-based eToys, and other Web toy sellers.

BabiesRUs.com is the latest entrant into the lucrative infant market, seen as critical to the growth of all toy retailers. The launch also is the latest in a series of competitive attacks launched by Internet toy retailers, whose ranks have already been thinned by sinking dot-com stocks and big-money competition.

EToys has the distinction of being one of the few online-only toy sellers to last this long -- outliving competitors such as Walt Disney Co.'s Toysmart.com, Viacom Inc.'s RedRocket.com and ToyTime.com, which all folded during the last few months.

EToys launched its own targeted baby business a year ago, when it spent $150 million to buy BabyCenter.com, a separate site that offers pregnancy tips and baby-care articles, as well as an online store.