Generally, there are 3 kinds of virtual pets: downloadable (download the software and play games on your computer), straight online virtual pets and “dual pets”, which are actually plush animals, which can also be looked after online by keying in a unique code that accompanies the toy at virtual pet adoption sites. Downloadable virtual pets are a great source of entertainment, and you need not be online at cyber pet adoption sites – once the software is downloaded. The problem with this option is that unless a reputed site provides the software,...