I can’t decide if this is really really cool or a bit too soppy. The i-Buddy connects to your PC via USB and notifies you when your MSN contacts come online, nothing soppy about that but the iBuddy is emotional and reacts to different emoticons in your messages.

For instance if someone puts a heart emoticon in their message, i-Buddy’s head glows and it twists and flaps its wings. And if the blushing emoticon is detected, i-Buddy will glow red. Even cuter, a gleaming red heart in i-Buddy’s chest illuminates whenever a contact is online. Awww!

You can buy the i-Buddy from Firebox for £14.95 (~$30) and if you’re in the UK you should get it in time for Christmas (annoyingly I’ve already bought presents for 3 people that this would be absolutely ideal for).