American kids are going ga-ga over these cuddly toys swarming US shops.
They are luring children onto an Internet networking site designed for children, many of whom are not even yet in school.
Webkinz is the latest "must-have" plaything for children across the United States and Canada -- a cuddly soft toy which has a virtual website twin.
Buying the toy, sold for 10 dollars and up, gains the proud owner access onto the website (www.webkinz.com) where they have to care for, dress, entertain and generally pamper their virtual pet.
Forget Facebook for the 30-somethings, or MySpace for the teenagers, this is social networking for elementary school kids and even pre-schoolers as young as four.
Each toy is sold with a secret code which activates the virtual pet once it is typed into the Internet site.
Crocodiles, pigs, frogs or hippos -- the colorful collection is constantly being updated and added to, while out-of-stock models now sell for more than 1,000 dollars on eBay.
In this northeastern town in New York state, everything from the pub to the pharmacy has webkinz on sale and can't keep up with demand -- a situation repeated across the United States.
"It blew up in the summer. Every kid wants them, most of the shops in Cooperstown sell them," said Rebecca Kennedy, a cashier at TJ's restaurant pointing to a pile of toys on sale at the entrance.