This Valentine¡¯s day, that cold slab of glass and metal in your pocket could get you closer to real, warm love ¡ª that is, if you have the right apps.

There¡¯s more to it than just Japan¡¯s everyday mind-boggling array of and . With , the Koi Kuru proximity-detecting app from clothing retailer Beams is extra timely. It alerts you when someone else with the love-locator is nearby. You input your info (age, sex, blood type, etc.) and assign it to a funky little avatar you design in the app. It then alerts you when you cross paths with another user and what your percent compatibility is. (These close encounters are represented visually and updated constantly on the associated website .) You can send little virtual gifts, like cyber-flowers or a generic ¡°present,¡± to the other person. There are buttons for virtual flirty gestures, too ¡ª you can wink, blow a kiss or ¡°drop your eraser.¡± It¡¯s all anonymous, so there¡¯s no giveaway of who the mystery match is, unless you catch someone else sneaking glances up from their phone, trying to look like they¡¯re not looking around. This continues the trend of .

If you already know who your true love is, there are branded tablet and smartphone apps with recipes for making homemade chocolates and chocolate-covered baked goods from confectioners and . Meiji¡¯s includes step-by-step instructions for creating fancy individual wrappings. Ghana¡¯s app lets you choose recipes not only by ingredients, but also by ¡°scene.¡± We¡¯re guessing that¡¯s referring to whether you want to whip up some ¡°love chocolate,¡± ¡°friend chocolate¡± or the least inspiring () chocolate of all, ¡±.¡± The app from Excite Japan Co. simply called has lots of mouthwatering photos and English as well as Japanese for over 100 recipes. It also, somewhat cruelly, includes calorie counts.

For sending a little virtual love, lets you plaster your cellphone photos with all kinds of hearts and then email them directly or upload them to Twitter or other social networking sites. There are also endless collections of ¡±¡± characters and icons to liven up cellphone love letters. Looking ahead, Starbucks would do well to release? the that¡¯s out in the U.S. here next year as well. If the buzz in online forums is to be trusted, it already has a fan club in Japan.