Mindscape Entertainment and The Learning Company, the creators of the virtual pet series, which includes Dogz and Catz, has added another cuddly character to its list in the form of Babyz: the world's first virtual baby. While the potential to amass in the hard-core gaming market may be low, the company is hoping to increase the series' success now that Dogz and Catz have collectively sold more than 3 million copies worldwide - not to bad for virtual pets.

　　Babyz adds one new feature to the series, IBM's ViaVoice technology (each package will come with a microphone), which lets users talk to their adopted little ones, teach them good and bad behavior, give them a tender tickle or a bottle, or speak their Babyz' names and have them respond. And staying true to its '90s mantra, Babyz won't let adoptive parents spank them.

　　Each package will let the user bring up one unique baby with the option to adopt more from the official Babyz site online. By swapping infant files with friends, their baby can interact with yours in one of seven virtual environments, complete with toys, slides, sandboxes, and more. Unfortunately, this version of Babyz won't let Dogz or Catz owners import their pets into environments with their Babyz yet, but the company is looking into the possibility of including this into the next version of the software.

　　GameSpot News took a look at an early alpha version of the game and saw that while the voice recognition in the software still had some glitches it was fun to tell the infants what to do when they listened. Mindscape plans to build an extensive site around the new game, with options like an online pediatrician and swapping area. We're not sure the FPS crowd will flock to the down-home goodness of Babyz, but many consumers looking for an easy-to-learn title for family members may soon have a little cherub in their homes.

　　Babyz will release to consumers this November for about US$29.99.