They are called Webkinz, huggable, plush toys with elaborate virtual lives that spotlight how children's play is changing, moving effortlessly between the real world and the Web. And in less than two years, they have become must-have items for tech-savvy 'tweeners.

Webkinz combines classic stuffed animals with popular online trends, such as social networking and instant messaging. Other toys and Web sites have made similar efforts. Remember the late-1990s craze of Tamagotchi, billed as the world's first digital pet? More recently, Neopets.com began manufacturing such plush toys as the "cybunny," which mirrored the virtual animals on its site. But Webkinz claims to be the first to marry the physical and the virtual from its inception.

Each stuffed animal comes with an identification number that gives children access to the Webkinz site ( http://www.webkinz.com/). There, owners discover their pets' online personas ("I'll let you in on a secret," reads the profile of a cocker spaniel. "I love fish sticks, and I've always wanted a bunny clown.") Children can buy clothes for their pets using virtual money, outfitting them in baggy jeans or pink tutus. They can also decorate their pets' virtual rooms with such items as a stove, a boy-band poster or a bed shaped like a pirate ship.