The three animals are available free of charge while supplies last at participating hotels in the US, Canada, and UK as part of the Hampton Webkinz Package. They can only be obtained by completing a stay at a Hampton hotel before August 30, 2009. The stay must be booked from the promotion's website, http://www.hampton.com/toyoffer. Curiously, the package is being targeted more at parents traveling alone on business than vacationing families.

        "As a working mother myself, I know how hard it is to be away from your family on business," said Judy Christa-Cathey, vice president brand marketing for Hampton Hotels. "Our summer Webkinz package offers parents that stay with us an entertaining and educational present for their kids to show that even when we're on the road, our families are in our thoughts and our hearts." 

        Once a pet is registered with Webkinz, a child can then build a virtual room for the pet and customize it with a variety of virtual goods. Webkinz bills itself as an educational virtual world, so there are a variety of learning-oriented games, contests, jobs, and other activities for children to complete while they're logged in. Children need to make sure they log in regularly so they can feed and care for the virtual versions of their Webkinz pet, too.

        Webkinz is one of the most popular of the recent boom in youth virtual worlds, thanks in part to its successful real world toy component. The toy line moved into Toys R Us stores earlier this year (and drew fire from parents during a brief attempt to include third-party advertising and branded virtual goods as features of the world). While the Hampton Hotels deal is not necessarily a huge coup for Webkinz by itself, it's certainly a sign of just how much momentum Webkinz has built up.