Cloned dog 'Invention of the Year'

New York: Snuppy, the first dog created by cloning, has been named as "2005 Invention of the Year" by Time magazine.

"Plenty of labs do mammalian cloning these days but the group that produced Snuppy is, like the puppy himself extraordinary," the magazine said.

Woo Suk Hwang and his team, who have been making one cloning breakthrough after another in their laboratory at Seoul National University in South Korea, have come in for a special praise by Time.

"In recognition of those feats, his cloning techniques embodied by a history-making puppy have been chosen Time?s Most Amazing Invention of 2005," the magazine said.

Last year, SpaceShipOne was Time?s "2004 Invention of the Year".

Hwang told the magazine that he had already produced cloned cows and pigs but when Snuppy was born, it was different.

"When I pulled out the first cloned dog from the surrogate mother's uterus, I was so happy. He was very healthy," he added.

"If we study and develop our techniques more, I expect we can find some ways to diminish, or reduce the rate of abnormalities in cloned animals," Hwang told Time.

The Time?s selections come in 43-page special package as a part of the fifth-annual "Most Amazing Inventions" issue.

The magazine said it spent more than six months surveying fields as diverse as electronics, aeronautics, medical technology, sports equipment, toys, clothing and food looking for the newest and most inspired ideas of the year.