Tamagotchi grief counselling offered

Grief counselling is to be offered to children traumatised by the death of their electronic 'virtual pets'.

Counsellors fear young children do not know how to deal with the death of their Tamagotchi.

They also believe that some children are deliberately killing them.

Anita Lam Siu-fung, supervisor of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups' counselling service, said she was worried some children weren't ready to understand death.

'Some children are too young to face death. They may be upset when their pets die,' she said.

'I also hear some children are keen to kill their pets. This is not a healthy concept.' Ms Lam said the federation was going to add Tamagotchi to its 24-hour information phone line for youngsters.