'Einstein's Brain' takes center stage on Taobao

"Einstein's Brain" is taking center stage on Taobao as youth taps into the business of emotional services.

The virtual product has clinched a spot on the annual list of top products released on Monday by the e-commerce giant. As a top trending item during exam seasons, "Einstein's Brain" saw a staggering 1022 percent surge in popularity index, calculated by Taobao, during the high-stakes gauntlet of college entrance exams in June.

On an "Einstein's Brain" selling page on Taobao, sellers cleverly adorn product pages with images of Einstein's iconic visage, often priced at just a few cents, claiming that purchasing the link will "automatically boost intelligence" without actually sending out goods in either virtual or physical forms.

"It's selling a belief that will encourage me before any big event," wrote a comment under the page. More buyers, however, wrote that the purchase was just for fun or teasing friends.

As of Tuesday, a top-selling store saw over 80,000 orders of "Einstein's Brain", priced at 0.5 yuan (7 cents) each, on Taobao.

Virtual products that offer emotional services soared in popularity this year. Aside from the "Einstein's Brain", "Virtual Mosquitoes", "Wake-up-from-Love Insults", and other whimsical virtual products have also carved out their own spaces.

"Virtual Mosquito," in particular, has become a "star product" with over a million units sold on Taobao. After a buyer purchases a virtual mosquito, the seller will engage in conversation with any social media account that the buyer designates, using the persona of the mosquito.