Hello Kitty is turning 29 this year, and so are a lot of her fans.

Sanrio Company Ltd., the Tokyo-based firm that produces Hello Kitty, has made sure that this cat has nine lives by appealing to fans who have grown up.

"As a 5-year-old, she takes the lunch case to school. As a 25-year-old, she takes the Hello Kitty cellphone case off to work," says Bill Hensley, marketing director at Sanrio's North American office in San Francisco. 

"A Hello Kitty fan generally may be attracted first as a young girl in elementary school," he adds, "but she finds something for her lifestyle as she grows."

After all, who else but an adult could afford (or would want) to buy the $129 toaster that imprints the icon on your bread, or the $129 microwave, $199 vacuum, $89 coffee maker, or $50 vibrator? 

Hello, Kitty

You know a collectible has arrived when one of the world's leading auction houses says it is considering organizing a sale for it. "Should there be sufficient interest, Hello Kitty is something we'd be looking at doing," says Hong Kong-based Peter Cheung of U.S. auctioneer Sotheby's. He is not a collector of the pink feline from Japan, but thousands of affluent Asians and Westerners are. There's computer programmer Linda Chan, 30, whose Hong Kong apartment is home to some 300 Kitty soft toys, dolls, lunch boxes and other Kitty-emblazoned items. Half of the prized collection is locked behind a glass cabinet. "They are very special to me," she says. "Hello Kitty looks perfect the way she is, so I don't want to ruin her. And if I ever want to sell anything, it will be in excellent condition." Not that Chan is particularly willing to part with any item: "I love Hello Kitty too much. I would only sell if it was really for a lot of money."

The Cuter Computer

The cat's got your mouse. And your monitor. And your CPU. 

The Millennium Hello Kitty Multi-Media Personal Computer is expected to reach online consumers throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States by the end of the year. 

"We're not in the business of selling computers," said Giovanni Tomaselli, founder and director of World Wide Licenses (WWL), the European company behind retailer CharacterPC.com. "We're selling the total computer experience. We're playing on the emotions of the consumer who loves Hello Kitty." 

After 25 years of Hello Kitty and two decades of personal computers, WWL and Sanrio feel the market is ripe for a fusion of the two. 

The company has been licensing character-embossed watches, mousepads, and computer accessories since 1994. It only recently put together the whole computer.