Lee Jae-ho, a 6-year-old student of Seoul Kyungdong Kindergarten, began his day yesterday by checking attendance with his robot friend, called IROBI, who always greets him with words of encouragement.

"Hi, you were late. Wasn't it cold on your way over here as it is very windy? How are you feeling today?" IROBI asked.

Feeling drowsy, Lee touched a sleepy face among others displayed on a screen - attached to the stomach of IROBI - in response to the questions.

Then, IROBI said, "You seem sleepy. Keep your chin up!"

IROBI can be connected to the internet through a computer and register students' attendance records on a special website, through which parents can find out whether their children have arrived safely, teachers at the kindergarten explained.

As IROBI read out "Treasure Island," an adventure novel by Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, students' eyes were glued onto the robot's 7-inch screen.

"I like IROBI most when it reads Treasure Island and Cinderella for me," said Lee.

An array of interesting books are stored in the robot, which reads out a selected story loud through an amplifier. On its screen, it displays different pictures as the story unfolds. The robot can also be connected to a larger screen.

IROBI has many other intriguing features, including singing songs, having conversations with students, recording voices and taking photos.

IROBI also responds when someone touches its head, hands and feet.

"Hey, touch my head gently. ... Your hand feels very warm," IROBI said when Lee touched its head and hand.

Kim Shin-young, head of the public kindergarten in northern Seoul, made the decision to purchase two robots - costing about 4 million won (S$48,000) each - one year ago as she was convinced that it would help develop students' creativity and personality.

"There are some students who feel lonely and want more attention from their parents, who both have little time to spend with them as they are working. A robot plays quite a significant role for kindergarteners who tend to personify everything and regard a robot as their friend," Kim said.

"In a situation where a single teacher should take care of more than 30 students, a robot playing the role of an assistant teacher is very helpful. There are a slew of things kindergarteners are wondering and curious about, and the robot can answer those questions."

She, however, noted that there are things that still need to be improved.

"There are some students who feel frustrated and uneasy when the robot fails to swiftly and sensitively respond to their questions. There also needs to be much more content that can be utilized during classes," Kim said.

Currently, only 50 out of the total 8,300 kindergartens across the nation use robots. The Education Ministry plans to provide robots to about 800 kindergartens in rural areas or underprivileged parts of the country this year.

"For science and technology education, we have used the so-called 'electronic-learning system,' which is based on texts. But for kindergarteners, teachers should show and present something (to grab their attention) and in that regard, robots are effective tools to arouse their interest and attention," said Bae Jung-hoe, director of the ministry's Early Childhood Education and Care Division.

"We plan to provide robots to kindergartens in the rural areas and encourage others to voluntarily use robots. We expect all kindergartens nationwide to use robots by 2013."

The ministry plans to establish a "Robot-Learning" system, beginning this year. The system is designed to enable teachers to capitalize on robots ability to contain a variety of teaching materials, including pictures and images.

The ministry has designated the state-run Korea Institute of Science and Technology as a main organization handling matters related to the establishment of the system.