Three years ago, a Hong Kong mobile phone company hit paydirt with a 'virtual girlfriend' game in which subscribers vied for the attention of five different fictitious characters: Alice the supermodel, Angel the nurse, Veron the fashion designer, Ron the schoolgirl and Maggie the flight attendant. The network claimed a following of 50,000 who sent and received text messages from their dream girls, some playing for hours on end. The object was to win the love interest's affections by taking her out to karaoke and concerts or by playing mahjong with her parents. Points, for instance, were won by losing money to her mother.
Fast forward to this year, add more sophisticated programming complemented with the kind of colour graphics made possible only by third-generation (3G) network technology. The result is a new service that promises more interaction and to be every bit as addictive. There is no word yet on the new character's name or occupation, but she's sure to be a hit, if the reception to Alice, Angel, Veron, Ron and Maggie is anything to go by.
While the clumsiness of the earlier game raised few alarms, the possibility that the 3G version will be more true-to-life is causing some concern. There are those who worry about Tamogochi-style addiction and disruption. Tamogochis were those virtual pets that, at the height of their popularity, seemed to be in the hands of every school-age child - and some grown-up children. The phenomenon died almost as quickly as it emerged, but not before being blamed for disruptions in the classroom and anti-social behaviour. With the virtual dating game, some also worry that subscribers will lose sight of the difference between fantasy and reality - or that the less-than-real relationship will be used as a substitute for human contact.
The worst of the anxieties may never materialise, however. The game introduced three years ago proved to be a short-lived fad. There might have been some larger-than-usual mobile phone bills during those months, but no greater social harm was in evidence. If anything, the reception to that service tended to reinforce the social norms we find in the carbon-based world.
Angel, the undemanding nurse, was the most popular girlfriend. Some played on well past the point needed to win a girl's hand, only because they wanted to have the most points of anyone around. If there was any questionable behaviour associated with the game, it was brought in from real life, not the other way around.
Curiously, it seems that the 'virtual boyfriend' version never had the same appeal. We will have to wait and see if the creators of the latest service fare any better with the female audience.