Emoji or bunny the next Monopoly token?

Hashtags, emojis and even a rubber duck may replace dogs, cats and hats in an upcoming version of the Monopoly board game.

Hasbro has begun a worldwide contest to let people choose the eight tokens to be included in the next generation of the US version of the property acquisition game, based on the real-life streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Longtime staples of the game including the hat, the dog and the wheelbarrow could be replaced by a winking emoji, a hashtag, a clunky '80s-style mobile phone, or a pair of bunny slippers.

Voting runs until January 31 at VoteMonopoly.com , and results will be announced on March 19.

The version of the game with the new fan-picked tokens will go on sale in August.