People who are bored or lonely or those who just want to pass time but do not have friends to talk to can now get a virtual partner for just 20 to 30 yuan (US$3-5) a day in China.

But unlike any other virtual girlfriend service, the girlfriend services offered by some vendors on China's leading e-commerce website, Taobao, are actually operated by real women, reports the Guangzhou-based Dayoo news website.

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Taobao's virtual girlfriend services have become a hit among China's young men who, aside from buying stuff online, also seek out get a girlfriend even for a day.

The girlfriend service is actually not a part of the Taobao offering but some female vendors decided to offer the service to boost the number of visitors to their Taobao store.

For just US$3 to US$5 a day, one can have a virtual girlfriend that can be called upon anytime of the day or can be requested to make wake up calls.

The girlfriends also come in a range of personalities. If you want a motherly advice for the night, there are mature woman to hire. If one wants sexy talk with pretty ladies, then the "girl next door" is best.

"Virtual girlfriends are real women who listen to people's complaints, have good conversation with, or say good night before bed," said one Taobao store owner.

The virtual girlfriend service proved to be a good marketing boost for most shop owners on Taobao.

One female vendor said that the number of transactions on her online ship has grown from seven or eight a day to 500.

The vendor has since hired seven women to work as virtual girlfriends and added that most of the customers so far have been young men who place their orders in the evening and buy the service for a day as a novelty.

TagsTaobao Girlfriend, Virtual Girlfriend