But when the rivals turned their historic meeting last week into a virtual love-fest, euphoria replaced doubt.

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"This could mean buying a virtual gift for a potential love interest, buying a power-up to defeat your old classmate in a friendly competition, or buying a nice accessory for your virtual home, " Smith said.

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Our next stop was the Tamagotchi, that cloying virtual pet from Japan that needed constant love and attention to grow.

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Virtual tschotskes beckon: Instead of selling generic virtual "gifts" like Facebook does, later this autumn Bianchini aims to give users the ability to design their own virtual presents and sell those (vampire love-bites, anyone?).

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Mobile Karaoke and virtual friends may be peculiar to Japan, but the love affair with mobile phones is worldwide.

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Indeed, the story that he fell in love with someone he never met, even in this world of pixelated love objects, appears to be preposterous even to those of us digitalsexuals who are into virtual relationships.

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