A marketing company is using the internet to boost interest in digital design.
Brighton-based Thunk has launched the world's largest virtual sculpture for people who can't face the wood, clay, muck and expense of the real thing.
The Iconobloc project aims to show the power of the internet as a medium for creativity and collaboration on a vast scale.
Simon Beales, of Thunk, said: "The internet is evolving all the time, especially as a viral medium.
"Word of mouth rules online and many users enjoy passing funny jokes and games on to their friends on the web.
"With the Iconobloc project, we're upping the stakes from simple games or pieces of animation to offering the whole world the chance to participate in a piece of ever-evolving art, with real, innate intelligence."
Tens of thousand of people are expected to sign up and create their own contribution but Mr Beales said it was difficult to predict just how popular the site would be.
He said: "One of our previous creations, the Crouching Tony web site, was used by about 250,000 people."
To create their own virtual sculpture, users visit the web site. They choose a name and shape for their individual sculpture, then assign it a set of character traits.
The Iconobloc can be printed out, then cut, folded and glued into a three-dimensional shape.
Sculptors can even decorate and personalise their Iconobloc using software like Illustrator and Photoshop.
They will also find their Iconobloc starts communicating with them by email, asking for advice on a wide range of arts-related subjects.
A sculpture might ask its creator to identify a certain painting or painter or ask for a definition of the word "art".
Eventually, the individual contributions, each with its own personality traits, will form part of a worldwide virtual sculpture.
The list of contributors by region shows that, while the majority of contributors are from the UK, Lithuanian users form the next biggest group.
Mr Beales said: "That's the thing about viral stuff - it gets picked-up and spread by fans.
"A lot of viral marketing is about brands tacking themselves to something, which often puts people off.
"This is about something more meaningful."
Thunk has created viral marketing campaigns for Glaxo Smith-Kline Beecham, Sky Sports and Channel 4 in recent months.
It was commissioned to create the Iconobloc by imaging giant Canon as part of its quest to find the best digital artists from around the globe.
Anyone who creates an Iconobloc and does not nurture a relationship with it or is slow responding to its needs, will find their creation gets fed up, leaves and gets adopted by a fellow sculptor.
Those that care for their sculptures will find their creation evolves.
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