Japan's toy giant Bandai employee demonstrates "Tuttuki bako", or poking box, a palm-sized plastic box with a simple digital display on the front, a coin-size hole on the side and a motion sensor inside. When you stick your finger in the hole, a virtual finger appears on the screen for petting or even torturing the animal or stickman.

If the financial crisis makes you want to poke a finger in your boss's eye or unleash some high karate kicks in the office, a Japanese toymaker may have the -- virtual -- answer.

Bandai has created the "tuttuki bako" or poking box, a palm-sized plastic box with a simple digital display on the front, a coin-size hole on the side and a motion sensor inside.

The display shows moving images including a panda on a hanging tyre, a karate-fighting stickman and a human face.

When you stick your finger in the hole, a virtual finger appears on the screen for petting or even torturing the animal or stickman.

"Bored office workers can have it on the desk as it serves as a clock, and occasionally stick their fingers into the hole to work off stress," said Hajime Kondo, a Bandai official who helped create the toy.

The box is on sale in Japan for 3,990 yen (41 dollars).

© 2008 AFP