She sells her 'life' on the Net

She sells her 'life' on the Net



By LIEW HANQING

MEET the woman who's selling "the rest of her life"on the Internet. Miss Chen Xiao, a 25-year-old Beijing native, started her unusual online business last month on auction website Taobao.com.

Her online shop is aptly named "Chen Xiao's remaining life shop".

Miss Chen wrote in her online mission statement: "People can sell their personal time. Planning my time is your right. Completing your tasks is my mission."

On the site, she sells time slots - ranging from eight-minute to one-day slots - where she offers to perform any service, except "sex, porn, violence and anything illegal".

People who wish to book Miss Chen for an assignment need only to log on to her auction site, send her a description of the intended task and the estimated time the task will take, and,upon her approval, send her payment.

Business has been brisk - in just a month, she has sold more than 80 time slots, and made as much as 2,000 yuan ($436) in a single day. Her auctions have attracted more than 9,000 views each.

In a write-up on her site, Miss Chen explained her rationale for setting up her unusual business: "Life has no meaning... I want to change my lifestyle - so I'll let you plan the rest of my life."

To prove her sincerity, Miss Chen posted her personal information, including her online messenger ID, e-mail address and phone number on the website, along with a recently- taken passport photograph.

The response to her online auctions was almost immediate.

Her first assignment, which came just a few days after her online store was set up, was to "pose triumphantly" for a photograph and post it online.

Then came several other assignments: To photograph a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square, to get herself photographed at the entrances of Beijing University and Tsinghua University, and to have a bowl of noodles at a well-known food outlet.

It seems Miss Chen has taken all her assignments seriously, diligently completing each task as instructed.

This shows in the feedback her "clients" have left on her profile on the auction site.

One netizen, who booked Miss Chen for eight minutes, wrote: "An intelligent, beautiful woman, deserving of praise. I hope you find meaning and purpose in life."

Varied&interesting
Another commented: "Thank you for finishing my assignment. Take care of your health, and I hope you will keep doing this for a long time."

Miss Chen's assignments have been interesting and varied.

She has been tasked with picking up people from various locations, delivering coffee, buying train tickets, delivering meals for beggars and sampling food on behalf of netizens.

Miss Chen told technology website tech163.com that even though she has received some harassing e-mails ever since she set up her website, most of the people who contact her are "friendly and sincere".

Her most lucrative assignment was a 2,000-yuan assignment, where she was asked to collect pictures of smiling people for a charity event.

Some maybe skeptical about the longevity of her business, but she has become a mini-celebrity in cyberspace in just over a month.

In a forum post on a popular Chinese website, one netizen wrote: "As long as it's nothing illegal, this is a really creative form of business.

"She'll get to experience different things, and every day is new and unexpected."

Added another netizen: "Even if this just a gimmick, it's a heartwarming, fun one. She's made cyberspace a little more personal and warm with her small business."

This story was first published in The New Paper on 22 January 2009.

Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20090123-116752.html