The origin of the practice is unclear - padlocks have appeared in China for years at sacred sites, and there was a flurry of padlocking in the Hungarian town of Pecs in the 1980s, when university students locked them on a bridge next to the university either as a symbol of undying love or their determination to finish their courses.

BBC: Locks say I love you

"This means using our characters -- characters children love and parents trust -- to bridge some of the world's most intractable divides, " Knell said.

CNN: Reaching the next generation with 'Muppet diplomacy'

You can rest assured that hundreds -- if not trillions -- of new laptops will be rolling off of production lines this quarter with Intel's Sandy Bridge platform inside, and those looking for a little love over in Japan won't have to wait much longer.

ENGADGET: Panasonic adds Sandy Bridge to Let's Note J10, N10, S10 and B10 laptops