That's glow business: How pop stars to politicians are using holograms

At a small hall in Gyeonggi province, South Korea, K-pop megastar Psy has been giving 16 performances a day, every day, since mid-July.

In his first week at Everland Park, 30,000 fans came to see him. The concerts are for intimate audiences of 100 people, 30 minutes long, and feature all the big hits, including that bouncy Gangnam jig.

But there is one little catch - Psy isn't technically there. His record label, Yang Goon Entertainment (YG), in collaboration with the Korea Creative Content Agency, has built a K-Pop Hologram hall.

Here, the latest laser technology projects an image of the star that is so lifelike that audiences could be forgiven for thinking that the singing, dancing Psy in front of them, complete with black shades and slicked back hair, is the real deal.

The hologram hall marks a wider move towards broadcasting virtual performances in the K-pop market. Rival label Success Music Entertainment's (SM) biggest act, Girls' Generation, gave a "V-performance" in Seoul's Gangnam Station in January and followed it up with two packed holographic shows at South Korea's Olympic Stadium in July.

The label opened a V-theatre last month, while YG has announced its intentions for 20 more V-venues, beaming out stereoscopic visions in China, Singapore, North America and Europe by 2015.

Such a move towards holographic broadcasting could save labels massive air travel bills, reduce their carbon footprint, resolve scheduling clashes for artists, revolutionise world tours, and give show producers creative possibilities previously out of reach.