We can virtually parent now

Shades of Nintendogs, only "Eccky" is "human" – sorta. Two people can now find each other, create a virtual baby (Eccky), and raise "him" on the Web with the help of IM and phone texting, reports CNET, leading with: "Technically, making babies is getting easier." Ha! It's a sim game and only in Dutch at the moment, but it "has spawned tens of thousands of unique virtual children and acquired 310,000 registered users since its debut in April 2005," and Microsoft's MSN Netherlands plans to help it launch in China and the UK soon. You win points by "raising a healthy, happy adult in a matter of six days." I'm thinking it'll be a killer app, though, if it helps one raise a healthy, happy real adult in 18 years!