Pygmalion in a cell phone

(Credit: Slashphone)

As mobile phones go, the Nokia 8800 is kind of the cellular equivalent of Eliza Doolittle: Everyone wants to dress it up and give it a makeover.

The "Sirocco" handset has been done in everything from 24k gold to the sleek stainless steel design of Lamborghini. Now, Russia's ISSE is weighing in with its own version, christening its "Monaco" brand of the 8800 with a variety of jewelry, colors and designs.

No information on pricing was available, but if all the handsets come in elaborate boxes like the one pictured here and on Slashphone (it looks like exotic zebra wood to us), we can expect them to cost at least as much as a fine cigar humidor.