Brain Food: Perk life - Better morale - at a stroke

A mechanised mascot called Aibo provides the 70 staff at tesco.com with the ideal antidote to the punishing pace of life on the web. Ever since the adoption of the interactive cyberpooch, employees have been queuing up to take him home. Bosses report better staff relations and heightened creativity as a result - but at a price. The hapless robo-pet has racked up two electronic nervous breakdowns and may be heading for a third.

brain food is edited by Andrew Saunders: andrew.saunders@haynet.com.