She sings and dances, favoring the style of teenage pop diva Namie Amuro. She's got what it takes to make it as an idol of today -- boyishly cute looks and a wardrobe of tight, satiny shirts and shorts.
But that's not why 16-year-old Kyoko Date became such a hot topic in media circles even before her debut last fall from Horipro Inc., a talent production giant. It's because she lives in the world of virtual reality.
Touted "the world's first virtual idol," Date is the brainchild of Yoshitaka Hori, 30, a director and chief of Horipro's media project headquarters. Since releasing the debut single "Love Communication" through Victor Entertainment Inc. last November and acting as a weekly midnight MC at a Tokyo FM station, Date has been featured in the media both here and abroad, performing a feat that ordinary new faces would never be able to accomplish, Hori said.