By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
A genuine Tamagotchi awaits a talented
Tamagotchi haiku writer.

Tamagotchi haiku can
fetch the real thing

You want a Tamagotchi. A real chicken-and-egg Tamagotchi, not one of those Dino Egg knockoffs.

Your choices:

A. Pay $300 through the classified adds.

B. Go to Shirokiya on exactly the right day and stand in line for three hours.

C. Write Tamagotchi haiku.

We recommend C:

Small colored oval
Cheeping warns of chick's anger
Plastic obsession

Compete through the Star-Bulletin's online edition -- starbulletin.com -- for one of four genuine Tamagotchi. One prize will be awarded in each age group: 8 and under, 9-13, 14-18 and 18-plus.

To enter, compose a standard haiku in English -- with five syllables in the first and third lines and seven in the second -- about Tamagotchi and submit it via the form in the online edition only by June 30. Only one entry per person will be accepted. Winners will be announced online on July 4.

(A Tamagotchi, for the clueless, is a "virtual pet" that lives in a palm-sized electronic game. It must be fed, cleaned, played with and nurtured day and night -- or it dies a virtual death. The Tamagotchi rage began in Japan, but has become an obsession in Hawaii.)

For contest details, check out the features section of starbulletin.com. Or call 525-8646. Send online inquiries to webmaster@starbulletin.com.