Carried away by dance fever

BEAMING with confidence, trendily dressed Wong Wai-fung steps on to the platform marked with gleaming pink and blue arrows that form the four corners of a diamond shape. Ignoring the noise and dingy lighting of the game centre, the 17-year-old slips a $10 coin into the slot and swiftly glances through the names of corny-sounding music tracks - Paranoia 180, Butterfly, Boom Boom Dollar, Have You Been My Mellow? - that appear on the computer screen. He chooses Brilliant To You, one of his favourites.

As the loud beat music streams in, he is transformed into Mr Disco on his own tiny dance floor. The revolving light-box above him flashes kaleidoscopic colours on to the platform to produce a disco ambience as he whirls and hip-hops. Unlike a few others who have tried before him, he is obviously no amateur to the two newly installed Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) machines that occupy a dimly lit corner of the Times Square arcade.

The 'dancing game' craze has become the latest fad in recent months among Hong Kong's hip youngsters after it swept into Hong Kong from Japan. The machines, installed in major game arcades across the SAR, draw in crowds of 'performers', mostly teenage lads, and curious spectators.

'I love people watching me dance. I get a real kick out of it. I feel I look really cool,' Wai-fung says during a break.

He was first lured to the game three months ago while travelling in Japan. Although the Form Five graduate also goes disco-dancing, it clearly fails to satisfy his desire to show off.

'Discos are too crowded and you don't get much space to display your skills. Dance machines are more convenient and people who come to these game centres are of a similar age to me. The thought that they are watching me and that I know I am better than them excites me a lot,' he grins.