Hologram concert Japan

Miku is a digital avatar created by Japanese technology firm Crypton Future Media that customers can purchase and then program to perform any song on their computer.

She is supposed to be 16 years old and five foot two inches tall but her makers have given little away about her personality.

Crypton uses voices recorded by actors and then puts them through Yamaha’s Vocaloid software to create its characters.

Miku’s voice was created by taking vocal samples from the voice actress Saki Fujita. All of the samples contained a single Japanese sound which when strung together would create full words and phrases.

Her music and image have proved so popular that she has now gone on a sell-out tour where thousands of fans wave light sticks and scream as if she is a real-life pop star.

Thousands of fans wave glow sticks as Miku performs on stage with a live backing band

Miku has already had a number one single and is now on tour

It is the first time a hologram has been used on stage in this way, moving and strutting just like a real pop star.

Gorillaz, the band fronted by Damon Albarn, used projected holograms at the MTV music awards in 2005 and 2006 but these were projected onto a back screen, rather than in full three dimensions.

Miku has become such a star that she already has a fan club, Facebook page and has set up ‘her’ own record label. She has also appeared in a number of episodes of popular Japanese anime TV programs.

She performed her first ‘live’ concert in 2009 and has also travelled to Singapore on tour.

In March 2010 three metal plates with Hatsune Miku’s image etched on them were placed on board Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki and sent into space after a nationwide petition with more than 14, 000 signatures demanded she be included.