  We demonstrate experimentally that the interactions between a pair of
nonlocal spatial optical solitons in a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) can be
controlled by the degree of nonlocality. For a given beam width, the degree of
nonlocality can be modulated by varying the pretilt angle of NLC molecules via
the change of the bias. When the pretilt angle is smaller than pi/4, the
nonlocality is strong enough to guarantee the independence of the interactions
on the phase difference of the solitons. As the pretilt angle increases, the
degree of nonlocality decreases. When the degree is below its critical value,
the two solitons behavior in the way like their local counterpart: the two
in-phase solitons attract and the two out-of-phase solitons repulse.
