Richard Hawley hits Second Life to flout smoking ban

The smoking ban has done terrible damage to rock stars who wield cigarettes as a stage prop. Now one leading artist has found a way to evade the prohibition by performing the first "virtual gig" for puffers.

Richard Hawley, the Mercury Prize-nominated rocker from Sheffield, is rarely seen without a packet of 20. "I insist on a fag wherever I'm playing," said the crooner, whose Lady's Bridge album hit the top ten.

So Hawley has been digitally recreated within the 3D environment of Second Life, the virtual, web-based world which operates its own currency, industry - and public health rules.

Hawley's fans, who created their own digital characters, or "avatars", gathered in Second Life for a live performance from the singer, whose movements were digitally captured while he strummed in a Manchester studio.