Anyone who ever played and loved a video game, especially as a teenager, will know that the game itself is often only part of the experience. It is also about community. We seek out other players, through forums, message boards and social media, and sometimes the relationships we form in these haphazard spaces move beyond expressions of shared fandom. They become friendships, support networks, perhaps even romances. Videoverse, the new visual novel from Kinmoku, creator of the acclaimed relationship drama One Night Stand, is an engrossing and emotional study of these digital relationships and the games that precariously support them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the "virtual-reality avatar" named Vivi depicted a "flirtatious secretary in revealing clothes" and was in beta testing for a virtual reality headset created by iQiyi, before the company pulled the assistant just "hours after The Wall Street Journal asked whether such depictions encourage a view of women as sexual objects in the workplace." Vivi was reportedly able to help users with average tasks "via voice commands" but "could also flirt with users and respond to commands to dance," which prompted users online to praise her "sexy dances, with her enchanting figure." Though Vivi was originally created to be an AI girlfriend, the Wall Street Journal reported that "revisions in October placed her in an office setting." Following complaints, iQiyi removed the virtual assistant and released a statement apologizing. "The earlier version of the product is a beta-testing version designed to gather users' feedback," the company claimed.

A Chinese technology company has pulled a virtual-reality girlfriend who was depicted as a'flirtatious secretary'. The virtual assistant, named'Vivi' could help users with certain tasks such as choosing a film or video game - but she could also flirt and dance on request. Dressed in revealing clothing, the erotic assistant was in beta testing for a virtual reality headset when she was pulled. Shortly after, the company iQiyi, the streaming unit of Baidu, issued a swift apology for'concerns it might have raised'. A Chinese technology company has pulled a virtual-reality girlfriend called Vivi who was depicted as a'flirtatious secretary' Vivi was initially marketed as a'built-in AI'girlfriend'' back in March.

The virtual-assistant avatar, named "Vivi," was in beta testing for a virtual-reality headset device sold by iQiyi, the online streaming unit of Baidu Inc., which owns China's biggest internet search engine. Vivi was ostensibly intended to help users complete tasks via voice commands--such as selecting a film or videogame to play. But it could also flirt with users and respond to commands to dance, according to user reviews posted on Chinese gaming websites and online forums. "The most important thing is she can perform sexy dances, with her enchanting figure, and only for you," one user wrote on Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A website. After The Journal contacted iQiyi about Vivi, the company removed the avatar and said in a statement: "The earlier version of the product is a beta-testing version designed to gather users' feedback. We'd like to make an apology for the concerns it might have raised."