"We are different. We have different interests and characters, though there are some resemblances in taste and hobbies," said Mr. Ng Shek Tong and Ng Shek Tei, a pair of twin brothers in their early fifties.

     Said the younger brother, Tei: "Similarity arises not because we are twins, but rather, because we were raised together."

     According to Dr. Vicky Tam, assistant professor in the Department of Education Studies at the Hong Kong Baptist University, personality has more to do with social environments than genetic factors.

     Explained he: "Cases show that even identical twins get entirely different characters if they are brought up in separated and different environments."

     Mental telepathy is another common misconception. Dr. Tam ruled the possibility out as there is no scientific evidence.

     Tong and Tei agreed.

     "It might be a coincidence for us to like and think about the same thing. Mental telepathy sounds incredible for us.

     "What is shown in movies might not be true in reality." Said Tei.

     Resemblance sometimes brought them bitter memories. Tong recalled how he became the scapegoat of Tei when his teacher took him for Tei and punished him.

     Said Tong: "One day while I was shopping with my wife, the mother-in-law of my brother saw me and took me for Tei. She approached me only to realize that I was not."

     After getting married, the twins have their own families and social groups. They sometimes even forget that they are twin brothers.

     Said Tong: "I am a father of five and I have a pair of twin sons. I love them as much as my other sons."

     Nicholas and Jonathan are a pair of seven-year-old twins with mixed blood.

     Their mother, Mrs. Daisy Dauch, said they have different characters. Nicholas is outgoing while Jonathan is shy.

     Mrs. Dauch, a teaching assistant at a school, deliberately separate the twin brothers into different classes.

     "It is no good staying together, they need to make more new friends," she explained.

     Although they are twins, Mrs. Dauch seldom dresses them in the same clothes as they are two individuals.

     Comparing the brothers, Andrew Dauch, their father, thinks Nicholas is always the leader while Jonathan is the follower.

     Although the twins said they dislike each other, Mrs. Dauch disagreed. She remembered Jonathan cried at midnight when he spent a night in a friend's home as he missed Nicholas.

     Raising twins is no easy task, but Mr. and Mrs. Dauch still feel proud of having twins.

     According to Dr. Terence Lao of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Hong Kong University, the probability of having twins is about 1 in 100.