A virtual 'talking head' called Zoe that expresses a range of human emotions could become the friendly face of future computers. The disembodied head generates voice and facial expression from typed text.

But it could be used as a digital personal assistant similar to Holly - the computer on the sci-fi series Red Dwarf. The face is that of actress Zoe Lister from 'Hollyoaks'.

The life-like face can display emotions such as happiness, anger, and fear, and changes its voice to suit any feeling the user wants it to simulate. According to its designers, it is the most expressive controllable avatar ever created, replicating human emotions with unprecedented realism.

Template could allow others to follow suit

The system is the result of a collaboration between researchers at Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Lab and the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. To recreate the face and voice, researchers spent several days recording Zoe’s speech and facial expressions.

The result is a system that is light enough to work in mobile technology, and could be used as a personal assistant in smartphones, or to "face message" friends.

The framework behind Zoe is also a template that could enable people to upload their own faces and voices but in a matter of seconds, rather than days.

That means that in the future, users will be able to customise and personalise their own, emotionally realistic, digital assistants.

Watch how Zoe came about: