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"  Until now, virtual pets (Tamagotchi, Nintendogs) have taught a generation of young Americans that caring for your dog is accomplished by pressing various buttons to keep him from beeping too loudly. Needless to say, it&amp;#039;s not the best lesson for real pet (or, Heavens no!) child care.  But as robots continue to usurp more of the traditionally carbon-based-life-form roles, a new breed of artificial pet intelligence might actually teach a growing army of Xbox warriors a little about what it takes to actually own and care for a pet\u2014or, at least, to get off the couch. It&amp;#039;s called the Vmigo, (spelled by manufacturer Jakks Pacific as vMigo) and it won&amp;#039;t sleep in your favorite La-Z-Boy when you leave the room. The Vmigo has two components: a handheld pod (the pet) and a plug-and-play console that connects to your TV, and features a SimCity-like game world where you can get your pet groomed, buy him clothes and play other mini-games within the video game staring\u2014you guessed it\u2014Fido.  Like any living creature, the Vmigo pet needs to be walked and fed to stay happy. For this, Vmigo&amp;#039;s intelligence lives in the pod, which has a built-in pedometer. When you walk, your pet walks; when you rest, your pet rests (assuming you carry the Treo-sized device with you). Your pet&amp;#039;s well being is defined by your level of physical activity, and an in-shape pet performs better in the aforementioned videogames. If you and your pod-based pet had a lazy afternoon on the recliner, don&amp;#039;t expect that dog to run. The pod features a 16-bit resolution screen that lets you monitor your pet&amp;#039;s vitals such as health and happiness. You can also connect to other pod-toting Vmigo owners to play virtual Frisbee and trade items via the device&amp;#039;s infrared wireless connection.  At $49.99 for the whole kit (one counsel and one pod, your choice of dog or cat), Vmigo is an affordable alternative to a real pet, not to mention a personal trainer. Additional pets cost $29.99. The Vmigo should be in stores in time for the holidays, right when the weather&amp;#039;s getting cold enough to make house-training a real animal a pain. \u2014Erin Scottberg Earlier: Bill Gates Surrendors to New Generation of Robots Canine Code: The Vmigo&amp;#039;s virtual pet lives in a PDA-sized, pedometer equipt pod. It plays in your TV. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a732/3218061/>