Is your Xbox Live avatar lonely?  Is he or she not enjoying their favorite games as much as they used to?  Do they avoid social situations?  Have you noticed a recent drop in your avatar’s confidence and/or self esteem?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, Microsoft has just the cure for your avatar: a pet!

That’s right lovers of all things small, alive, and preferably cuddly, you can now gift your online XBOX avatar with the most precious of pals, a pet.  Tomorrow, when the Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace pet shop opens, all it takes to deck your avatar out with a new friend is 240 Microsoft Points. The initial cast of pets includes a Large Dog, Pug Dog, Dog in Bag, Cat, Siamese Cat, Long Haired Cat, Goldfish, Guinea Pig, Monkey, Bird, Snake, and a Pony.

It appears that more pet options could be added at a later date.  Hopefully that later date will bring with it some cooler pets, preferably ones that don’t actually exist.  Like a ratbatspider or a mini triceratops.  I’ve always wanted a pet triceratops.

For more pics of the new pets in action, head over to Major Nelson’s Flickr page.

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