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Japanese Girls Going Crazy for Virtual Boyfriends

by Terrence O'Brien on September 22, 2008 at 05:34 PM


It may be a little tough for some of us to grasp, but the latest fad among Japanese girls is the 'virtual boyfriend.' Within two weeks of launching, virtual boyfriend site Webkare (Japanese for 'Web boyfriend') already boasts over 10,000 members and over 3.5 million page views.

Webkare is a combination social-networking site and online game in which young Japanese women attempt to hook up with one of four anime suitors. Players "interact" with their virtual crushes through short cartoon sequences that allow for very little actual interaction. Important events in the storyline are saved digitally in a memories album on the site.

Member also get to customize minimalist profiles and use a Twitter-like micro-blogging feature. Users can become friends with other members and 'talk' to their virtual boyfriends in order to advance in the game.

Virtual boyfriends may seem a little odd, but remember, this is the country that brought us the virtual pet. [From: Washington Post]

Tags: big in japan, BigInJapan, japan, japanese, virtual boyfriend, VirtualBoyfriend, web, webkare

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