Virtual Coins?

This topic maybe boring for some people, but I found it interesting and I was wondering what people thought of it.

I was reading today this new popularity for virtual money called "Bitcoins". It's apparently taking the world by storm because you can buy products with digital money. Apparently it is popular because it isn't affected by inflation or generated by a government but rather by a computer algorithms.

So I'm wondering about what is everyone's opinion on it? Do you think it is safe?