This month Cao Fei, one of China's most lauded young artists, will open a city in the online virtual world Second Life. Its 10 leased buildings may be constructed from zeros and ones rather than concrete and steel but their prices are very real: they range from $80,000 to $200,000.

A fast-paced, pulsating vision, "RMB City", condenses contemporary urban China into an amalgam of symbols and icons, from shiny new skyscrapers to the much-loved panda.