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Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. says it has the solution for the country’s aging, lonely population. The robopet, which will be widely available by 2001, “smiles and delivers verbal greetings when touched,” a spokesman says, or it can decide for itself when to initiate “conversations.” It even simulates emotion. “Its eyes are composed of a liquid crystal display panel so the robot can smile at you or ... simulate sleepy eyes.” The mechanical cat, tiger or bear can also be programmed to phone and alert relatives if the owner suffers “a long period of silence.” Matsushita says the 500,000 yen (US$4,200) machines are a major advance. “In the past, robots like this could only mimic the motions of real animals solely for the purpose of entertainment.” (AFP) ...Now they can deplete grandma’s bank account, too.