Singer Aimi Eguchi is Japan's latest artificial star

TOKYO, June 24 (UPI) -- Aimi Eguchi, a member of the Japanese pop band AKB 48 who was recently revealed to the public as computer generated, is only Japan's latest artificial pop star.

Eguchi, who was created using features from six other band members, joins the company of Hatsune Miku, a pop singer who is actually a computer-generated cartoon with a realistic voice synthesized using Yamaha's Vocaloid program, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Miku regularly sells out "live" concerts featuring 3-D holographic images of the singer performing on stage, the British newspaper said.

Other non-flesh-and-blood performers include the popular girl band Ho-kago Tea Time, which topped the Japanese charts with a 2009 album. The band is comprised of fictional characters from the Japanese anime series "K-on!"