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Young Chinese women find virtual love in 'Deepspace'

In this photo taken on March 1, 2025, a woman poses during a birthday celebration event for Rafayel, a virtual character in the romantic mobile game "Love and Deepspace", at a shopping mall in Beijing. [AFP]

Rafayel's girlfriends went all out to celebrate their lover's birthday, renting malls across China for parties, decorating high-speed trains with his photos, and even staging a dazzling drone show.

But the birthday boy was absent from every event -- he's a virtual character in the romantic mobile game "Love and Deepspace" that has won over millions of young women in China and beyond.

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