Nokia has now announced it's offering new virtual pets for its N-Gage mobile games service, called Creebies. Starting with a trailer and some virtual cash, the Creebi and its home are customizable, and Nokia says that the pet will take on its own personality and appearance based on the attention it receives -- you can play with it, feed it when it's hungry and rest it when it's tired -- and it'll grow more independent with time.

Creebies can also interact with each other via Bluetooth -- users can play games together or even breed the pets, show off the newborns or put them up in a virtual adoption center. The virtual pets are expected to be available in 2008.

Dr Mark Ollila, director of Technology and Strategy and head of Games Publishing at Nokia, said, "Nokia as brought a quirky game to N-Gage that appeal to all ages. With Creebies anyone can have the pleasure of owning a pet without the trouble of cleaning up the mess."