New Company Promises to Give You a Pretend Facebook Girlfriend

Some clever Facebook users' relationship statuses may be updated soon to "In a Relationship" after signing up for a fake girlfriend service called "Cloud Girlfriend."

Relationship status: virtual.

That's what startup Cloud Girlfriend promises, although your friends on Facebook will never know it. The new Internet company helps guys who aren't ready to admit, at least online, that they don't have a significant other.

The new service allows users to create the perfect girlfriend who will write on your Facebook wall and otherwise make her ghostly presence known through social media.

Cloud Girlfriend has yet to officially launch, but the site is already generating overwhelming interest, advising visitors to "register early to get in line."

According to the site, signing up is easy as:

"Step 1: Define your perfect girlfriend. Step 2: We bring her into existence. Step 3: Connect and interact with her publicly on your favorite social network. Step 4: Enjoy a public long distance relationship with your perfect girl."

But not everyone is lining up. Facebook's Terms of Service agreement strictly prohibits computer controlled accounts, which would seemingly rule out cyber-based special lady friends.

"Some startups don't make it past the phase where they build a mailing list of users for their service, and if Cloud Girlfriend isn't one of them, I will gladly eat my hat," Technology Review's Christopher Mims wrote.

"That's too bad (from a business perspective) because it's very likely that a service like this could succeed," Mims adds, arguing that similar services have prospered in Japan, for example.

Still, it's difficult for some to look past the humor factor here.

"You know what gets the online ladies going? Well, when some other lady is writing all over your Facebook wall," Mashable's Brenna Ehrlich writes. "After all, 'I love you' means nada unless it's posted between a video of a big cat in a tiny box and a frantic plea from your friend Jonah to 'Gett totaly crunked on sat! dude.'"