Feeling lonely in China? Taobao offers 'virtual girlfriend service'

If you live in China and need to make extra cash, how about working as a virtual girlfriend for Taobao, China's leading e-commerce website.

Taobao offers men the opportunity to buy the companionship of a girlfriend for as little as $2 (£1.20) a day. The girlfriend service involves a hired employee calling or texting the customer to wake him up in the morning, say good-night before bed, and sympathetically listen to his complaints at any time of day, Taiwan's Want China website reports.

"You just spend 20 to 30 yuan (£2-3) to make a single man's dreams come true!" one customer says. Another said the mobile girlfriends he met were humorous and helped relieve pressure from his work.

The girlfriends come in a range of personalities according to the customer's needs, including "doll-like girls," "mature women," and "the girl next door."

Vendors who offer the service say that it's an extremely effective way to boost sales, according to Want China Times, citing Guangzhou-based news site Dayoo.

However, being a virtual girlfriend can be quite tiresome, one employee Xiaomi says. She's lost sleep making early wake-up calls and always has to keep an eye on her phone. The bulk of customers reportedly buy the service just for a day out of curiosity, but it appears to be a growing market.

Zhang Xiaoli, head of the China Association of Mental Health, said customers are likely people who are curious about the service, are lacking in social skills or people who are simply bored and need something to do to pass the time.