HER image can be found on everything from sandwich makers to Swarovski crystal-encrusted laptops.

But for certain Hello Kitty fans, the return of one Kitty product in particular has Internet sites buzzing: the shoulder massager.

Back in 1997, Sanrio, the Japanese creators of the feline character known as Hello Kitty, introduced the Hello Kitty shoulder massager through a licensee. Unknown to Sanrio, the product soon made its way into adult stores as a sex toy.

It “sold like crazy,” said Pamela Doan, public relations manager for Babeland, a chain of adult shops in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles. Mary Ketterborn, an assistant manager at Babeland SoHo, added that “people still ask about it.”

The vice president for marketing for Sanrio’s American division, Andrea Sobel, stands by the wholesome intentions of the Hello Kitty brand. “I have no idea what people may have used it for,” she said. “The product was marketed as a shoulder massager. That’s what it was sold as.”