Azuma Hikari wakes her "master" every morning, reminds him not to forget his umbrella, texts him supportive messages during the day and makes sure the family home is just so before he returns in the evening.

With matching blue hair and eyes, long legs and an arrary of seductive outfits, the perfect "wife" is a snip at Y298,000 (GBP2,030). The only drawback to the relationship is that she is a hologram that only stands a few inches tall and lives inside a cylindrical projector.

Japanese technology company Vinclu Inc. started taking advance orders, in Japan and the US initially, for the Gatebox Communication Robot on Wednesday, with 300 units available.