With just 146 days, four hours, 37 minutes and 16 seconds to go until Christmas, allow me to relieve all your gift-buying headaches in a single swoop: click here and shove a few Verballs in your basket.

(The catch: Verballs don't go on sale until 1 September. I'll remind you again on the day. Promise.)

These very smashing desktop gizmos, priced £29.95, plug into your computer's USB and double as a mic and speakers when you're making a Skype call. Yes, they're voip phones with faces. When someone's trying to call you, their horns light up and they wave to get your attention - and their mouths move in time with the voice of the other person.

Tip: prepare an explanation for when Granny walks in and finds you whispering naughty nothings to a jiggling toy on your desk.

Taking a lead from popular beat combo The Spice Girls, Verballs creator Aardvark Innovation has included five characters in the Verballs line-up - Baby, Boss, Britney, Striker and Mr V - each with its own biography and Flash animation.

Rumours that Britney Verball was modelled on Madonna are simply cruel and unneccessary.

Incidentally, watch Britney's animation on the Verballs site; there's something very strange going on between the shoes.