1.   Anyway, Millennium Interactive, for unfathomable marketing reasons, recently launched its virtual pets program in England and Australia.

2.   And youngsters are bonding in a big way with electronic key chains being marketed as virtual pets.

3.   As an adult, he even entertained himself by watching people frantically search toy stores for the latest fad, such as the Tamagotchi virtual pet.

4.   According to news reports, crimes linked to the toy have ranged from kids stealing the virtual pet from each other to hijacked shipments.

5.   But American elementary school girls took to the virtual pets in focus groups, so Casio is now considering offering the product in the United States.

6.   But not all adults are dead-set against virtual pets.

7.   But this is not just another virtual pet.

8.   Clad in metallic black, silver or gold plastic, this virtual pet resembles an armored terrier in a space helmet.

9.   Depending on who you ask, it could be the hottest fad from Japan since the Tamagotchi virtual pet.

10.   For now, prices for virtual pets vary from store to store.