The physical embodiment of Moshi Monsters are what you see above and in the gallery below, cell-phone charms whose only interactive ability is to light up and twirl when your phone rings. They work with most phones, GSM and CDMA, simply by proximity; no need for Bluetooth pairing or anything fancy.

Each $10 charm comes with an unlock code, so that you can adopt a virtual version of your little pet. You "nurture" it by playing puzzles daily, and earn tokens to buy them trinkets, for your creature to wear or to decorate its home. You can take a picture of your virtual monster and send it to friends, and have people post comments about how excellent your Moshi is compared to their loser one. There's a running news column, similar to FaceBook's, and from what I can tell, Moshi Monsters will be able to meet online to interact, though there's no word yet on whether or not the interaction involves bloodsport.

OK, so now that you're kind of intrigued, here's the bad news: the Moshi Monsters target audience is 7-12 years of age, and due to the security required for the online component, you may be considered extra creepy if you're, say, in your thirties, even if you still live with the folks. That said, if you, or your offspring, do fit the criteria, keep a lookout on moshimonsters.com. It's not up yet, just a link to Smith's Mind Candy site, but it should go live in early September.

Your phone rings. Blah. When your conversation is finished, hatch your virtual pet. Take another call. Smother your pet with love. Take another call. See Petski there? Well, keep smothering. Make a call. Smother away, dearie. Ring Ring! Stroke Stroke. Yadda Yadda. Stroke. My, we are popular since we got our pastel kooky clamshell.

Pet needs to pee. But you need to talk to Glorinda and Shaznay about that new boy in fifth grade. This conversation is not over. But your interest in the pet is. Phone goes again. Pet is thirsty. Give a fuck. Pet dies. Decide that your mobile is ugly. Go to Mom, pester her and whine until she gives in, rolls her eyes and buys you an iPhone. – Ad Dugdale

Tamagotchi Virtual Pets Coming To Pre-Paid Phones [PC World]

Like real-world ant farms, people simply watch the virtual ants go on with their lives, moving dirt, making tunnels, getting nervous when approaching the queen to ask for a favor, etc. Up to 100 different nests can be built by the ants, ensuring that no matter how dull and meaningless your work day is, you can always watch your pets toil away.

Look for Ant's Life Studio (in Japan, at least initially) in November for around $69. – Nicholas Deleon

Salary Man Sims [Tokyo Times]

Bring that pod home and plug it into the console, and then you'll see a Sims-like virtual world on your TV that looks a whole lot like the Catz and Dogz software games from a few years back. That's where you can make a fool out of your pet by buying clothes for it, getting it groomed and playing little games with it. Set to ship for the holidays, it will be $49.99, with additional pets for $29.99.

Cute, but this is only halfway there. Bring on the realistic robot dogs! – Charlie White

Virtual Pet Prefers Real Walks [Popular Mechanics]

Tamagotchi to Xbox: Why The World Can t Resist Phatic Technologies

Phatic communication, a term first coined by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski, is the international linguistic phenomenon of small talk; that is, exchanges meant to provide a social connection rather than transmit information. Think about your last ride in an elevator: did everyone suffer silently, or did someone attempt a connection by offering some idle chatter about the weather? That man was engaging in a bit of phatic communication.

The need to connect phatically is almost, but not quite, universal. A recent study from the University of Kansas, for example, found that Germans don t typically engage in phatic rituals. But the researchers found that phatic gestures are commonplace in the United States, Japan, and even Iran. And our tendencies to exchange social niceties influence the sort of products we design and use.

Some of today s most successful products have phatic properties that allow us to connect socially.

Consider iChat; often the content of the messages is secondary to the fact that people simply appreciate being pinged by their online pals. And sometimes just seeing your pals in the list, knowing they are there, is enough to feel socially connected.

Our innate affection for phatic interactions is best exemplified by the Tamagotchis. First introduced in 1996, these Japanese virtual pets satisfied the profound, hitherto untapped phatic desires of 14 million people to connect to lifelike avatars - hatched, grew, ate, and pooped before dying a slow death, only to be reborn with the click of a button like some digital phoenix rising from LED ashes. Today s Tamagotchis, equipped with infrared technology, can marry or create offspring by connecting with other pets in close proximity. So now we can connect to other owners, not just our virtual pets. These new Tamagotchis have upped the phatic quotient.

Phatic interactions abound in the wired community space as well. The advent of camera phones and sites like Flickr only reinforce the trend to moblog the world with mundane photographs. We are wired to connect socially with others, so of course sharing photos is addictive. Similarly, the Xbox Voice Communicator encourages phaticism between gamers. Most of the chatter consists of nothing more than sound bites like Nice shot! or Die, sucker! Meaningless verbal exchanges can occur during game play, on an elevator, or while out with the kids. A mom can use a walkie-talkie wristwatch to stay connected when her children are out of ear shot You there? Okay, just checking. Love you.

Products with phatic properties also allow us to connect with our inner selves. Like an updated Tamagotchi for the health-conscious consumer, the StressEraser relies on biofeedback to improve a user s breathing patterns and ultimately reduce stress. How s the weather in there? we ask our body, Are we sunny or cloudy today?

Clearly, manufacturers and consumers alike recognize the profound response to phatic technologies, but ironically the mass consumption, proliferation and market penetration of so many phatic devices herald the tipping point of their acceptance.

As phatic devices deluge our daily lives with cheery interpersonal messages, we will eventually develop an immunity to the power of the social network. Just like email, the more messages we receive, the shorter, more selective and delayed our responses will be. Even now, some people choose to hide behind their headphones, brandish their iPods like Harry Potter s Invisibility Cloak and donate their Tamagotchis to Goodwill. For phatic products to have a place in society s future, they need to allow the device user to choose an appropriate level of phatic engagement—we might not be able to turn off the guy in the elevator, but we should be able to turn off the banter of a fellow gamer or the bleeting of our own virtual pet.

Laura Richardson is a Senior Design Analyst in frog s Austin, Texas studio.

The frog Design Mind column appears every Monday on Gizmodo. Read more frog Design Mind.

Part of the new popularity is due to the infrared capabilities of the new Tamagotchi that allow connection to other Tamagotchi s and mobile devices. These can also be swallowed and will survive for four months in the lower intestine without recharging.

Tamagotchi Plus Sales [Tech Japan]