Incubators hatch internet idols

With online celebrities becoming more and more popular in China, many incubators also have emerged and are turning the trend into more of a systematic business enterprise, insiders say.

A Tencent report of online celebrities says many incubators are now in operation, and the number is growing quickly. Although the result of their work is not entirely clear yet, it does mean cyber celebrities can be made in batches, offering endless streams of content.

"Online celebrities in the past had to rely on themselves, but now many have incubators or agencies to work with them. The birth of incubators means that in the online celebrity area, star-making factories have appeared," says Zhang Xiaorong, a senior researcher at the Tencent Research Institute, in a recent report.