Talking dolls are gaining popularity among elderly people who live alone and may help stave off mental decline.

"After spending about a month with this boy, I started to feel affection for him and cannot leave him alone," said Nobu Komatsu, 86, who lives by herself in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, while patting her doll's head.

A Tokyo-based maker of toys and daily goods called Partners Inc. developed the doll, which is supposed to represent a 5-year-old boy named Oshaberi Ma-kun (Talking Ma-kun). It can recognize certain words and give a limited range of responses in the recorded voice of a real 5-year-old boy.