Is There a Future for Avatars?

I have a 17-month-old baby girl. And I believe that generation is going to be growing up with friends that are completely virtual and completely artificial. From here up to an avatar that grows with my child and becomes a friend and it's completely virtual, I don't think it's that far of a fetch. The notion of an avatar that expresses our personality and an avatar that we relate to, but actually it's completely artificial.