H&M Makes Virtual Fashion a Reality

Fashion is getting cozy with video games -- VERY cozy. We told you about the Japanese game that lets you run a virtual boutique, but did you know that Sims 2 had a virtual fashion show? Real people used the game's design tools to create outfits for on-screen figures, which showed off the creations on the virtual catwalk. A panel of H&M designers in Stockholm chose a winner, and now the Swedish retailer is taking the clever cluster of pixels and making it into material goods.

21-year-old interior design student Beau Fornillos beat out more than 1,000 other entrants with his design: a chic black-and-white striped mini-dress over black leggings. And from the end of this month, the outfit will be on sale in H&M stores.

Sims 2 allows players to take their avatars on shopping trips at virtual H&M stores, dress them in clothes from the actual current line, and create virtual runway shows. As well as the upcoming, Japanese-inspired Pop Cutie!, two other recent games for the Nintendo DS appeal to the style-obsessed: Fashion Designer and My Fashion Studio.

Add to all this the fact that Nintendo just came out with a DS console in pink, and we're prepared to go out on a limb and guess that video game companies really want women to buy their stuff.

Which video games do you play?