1: The easiest way (especially for a VB programmer) is to use the string object:
Code:
#include <string>
using std::string;

string func()
{
    return string("Hello");
}

int main()
{
  string x = func();
  cout << x.c_str() << endl;
  return 0;
}
2: You can create an array of string objects and pass them as Steve said, or you can use a vector:
Code:
#include <string>
#include <vector>
using std::string;
using std::vector;

void func(vector<string>& strings)
{
  for(int i = 0; i < strings.size(); ++i)
     cout << strings[i].c_str() << endl;
}

int main()
{
  vector<string> x;
  x.push_back(string("Hello"));
  x.push_back(string("Goodbye"));
  func(x);
  return 0;
}
Z.