Easiest babysitting service outside Mary Poppins.

Kids can buy a pet, register is online and then get lost in the world of Webkinz for hours. Play games in the arcade or in child-friendly rooms against other kid, perform jobs and other activities to earn webkinz cash. Use the cash to decorate your pets room items of your kids choice.

Make sure to keep those pets fed, don't want them getting cranky or sad.....nobody will want to play with them.

My little cousins go bananas over this stuff. They ask for the webkinz stuffed animals which each come with a special code that can be used online @ the webkinz website, which is an interactive community . In order to belong to said community I think you have to have at least one of the dolls. Then you can talk to your friends who also belong and make houses and stuff for you virtual pets... It's pretty crazy, but I can dig it.

My daughter got two of these for Christmas, and wants another one for her birthday. The folks at Webkinz must be on to something.

Ever buy a stuffed animal and wish you could make it come alive? Now you can with Webkinz. When you buy one of their animals, you get access to their website where your kitty or puppy comes alive. Create a whole new world, meet their friends or browse through their catalogue for another pet. (via http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCI)

In case you haven't heard of the Webkinz, here's a discription of what it does: "Webkinz are more than just cute furry critters. Each comes with its own secret code that kids enter onto a website to play games. The toys are "adopted" by their owners, and in a clever twist, the pets have set levels of happiness and hunger. This forces Webkinz owners to "take care" of their cuddly pals. If these levels get too low, the pets may need to go to the doctor." The popularity of this interactive toy makes the Webkina the 13th hottest product of 2007. (via AOL Money)