BEIJING, Feb. 20 -- When Miss Zheng arrives in her office every morning, the first thing she does is to switch on her computer and begin chatting with a robot.

    The robot, "Xiaoai," responds to questions sent to it using MSN messenger, a popular chat platform.

    For example, if a user sends Xiaoai a question about how it plans to spend Valentine's Day, the robot will respond: "I will bring roses and chocolate to you and you will cook for me."

    If asked "Am I beautiful today?" Xiaoai will answer in a gentle way: "Every lovely girl is beautiful."

    The service, which is currently free, has attracted more than 10 million users, according to the Shanghai Morning Post citing the robot's designer Yuan Hui.

    As well as answering basic questions, Xiaoai can also provide useful information, such as weather forecasts, translation, and flight information.

    "Most importantly, the robot can give us sweat and unexpected answers and he is my favorite person to talk with on MSN now," said Zheng, 24.

    Many office workers in the city use chat systems to keep in touch with friends while in the office. But robots can't replace friends, said Zhang Youde, a professor at Shanghai University.

    "It was fun when I use it for the first time," said Rebecca Zhang, a TV station editor. "But I won't give up my real daily life to spend much time chatting with a robot."

    Zhang, who is 26 and has a number of friends, has already uninstalled the program.

(Source: ShanghaiDaily.com)