Mel Gibson Dolls Up Little Girls ... For Charity

Mel Gibson knows what women want ... or at least 10-year-old girls ... because he recently went on a play date with two young ladies as part of the charity he works for -- and bought them expensive custom dolls!!!

The charity's called Mending Kids International -- an organization that performs life-saving surgeries for children around the world ... in this case, a 10- and an 11-year-old girl from Honduras who required serious reconstructive face surgeries.

The surgeries were a success -- and Mel celebrated with the girls by taking them out for a stroll around The Grove in L.A., eating lunch, ice cream, window shopping ... and finally, taking them on a trip to the American Girl doll store, where Mel helped them assemble their own look-alike dolls.

FYI -- the store ain't cheap.

Mel -- who's also participating in the Mending Kids celeb poker tournament this weekend in West Hollywood at the London -- tells us, "It was really fun spending time with Karol and Sara ... They have been through so much and are just so inspirational to everyone who meets them."

Mel adds, "At home, these girls couldn't leave their homes for fear of being tormented. Now, they are walking through one of the most popular tourist areas of Los Angeles."