The breakthrough raises the possibility that women who are unable to produce eggs naturally could now have them created in a test tube from their own cells and then plant them back into their body, Japanese researchers said.
The research team, from Kyoto University, started with , "blank" stem cells capable of turning into other types and used a cocktail of nutrients to turn them into very early-stage eggs, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
These were then grown in the lab with ovary cells before being transplanted into mice ovaries to mature.
The next step in the complicated process involved removing the eggs and using In vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques to fertilise them.
Eight pups were born via two different techniques. One recently died but the others were all healthy and some have gone on to have litters of their own.
In future, it might be possible to replicate the process, using just a sliver of a woman's skin as the stem cell source.
Although some progress has been made before, this is the first time scientists have succeeded in making fully-functional eggs.
Researcher Katsuhiko Hayashi said that those who could benefit in the future include young cancer patients and post-menopausal women.
The work could also lead to new fertility drugs.
However, the big differences between mice and humans and the need for extensive safety testing mean that test-tube eggs are still at least a decade away from use in fertility clinics.
The findings on egg development come just a year after scientists in Kyoto successfully coaxed sperm cells from mouse stem cells.
The study was published in the journal 'Science'.
