(more on Akiba Blog)
Few weeks ago, after I found it on sale in Akiba's Laox MusicVox shop, I posted about Vocaloid 2 on my mixi blog.  According to Akiba blog and several other sources seems that this music software has been really succesfull (it's on top spot of Amazon Japan sales ranking) and the first printing is already sold out. Vocaloid is a technology and application software developed by Yamaha that enables users to synthesize authentic-sounding singing by just typing in the melody and the lyrics of a song. Yamaha announced its development in 2003, and in 2004 the first application software product was launched. It was not released as a Yamaha product, but a software package of Vocaloid Singer Libraries developed by third party licensees (Zero-G and Crypton) which included Yamaha's Vocaloid software. Vocaloid 2 singer, just released by Crypton, features the voice of Atsune Miku: a 16 years old virtual Singer (according to her official bio she is 158 cm tall, weights 42 Kg  and loves pop and dance music).
These are official MP3 demo songs: Song 1,  Song 2 and Song 3 or YouTube medley.

In the last two weeks Atsune Miku stormed the japanese otaku and video gamers undeground and many users poster their own music created with Vocaloid 2 on Nico Nico (japanese equivalent of You Tube). It's really impressive how powerfull can be a 100$ software!  Finally anime and videogame fans can have their personal seiyu in their room!
These are some some Nico Nico video reposted on gaijin friendly You Tube:

True my heart: a pure bishoujo song!


Another otaku classic vocaloid mashup!