article: A cross-dressing Japanese  television star's robotic clone has made its 'unnervingly real' on-screen debut - the first android to host its own show. Japanese engineers, who are trying to replace celebrities with human-like androids, have pushed the clone of transvestite entertainer Matsuko Deluxe into the limelight. The late-night television personality shared the stage with his 'Matsukoroid' doppelganger for the first time on Saturday night. Scroll down for video . Uncanny: The real Matsuko Deluxe (left) comes face-to-face with his android doppelganger Matsukoriod (right) 'Unnervingly real': Transvestite TV star Matsuko Deluxe (left) shared the stage with his 'Matsukoroid' doppelganger (right) on Saturday . Fake: Mr Matsuko's robotic clone make is debut at the weekend and has been described as 'unnervingly real' 'It’s unnervingly real,' said one commentator of the programme Matsuko Matsuko, which premiered at the weekend. Mr Deluxe, who is popular in Japan for his frankness, said it was 'fascinating' come face-to-face with his lookalike. 'I see myself as other people see me for the first time, and it was a significant moment,' he added. Working with world-famous roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, Japan’s top advertising agency, Dentsu dreamed up the idea to clone an exact android copy of the rotund entertainer. A spokesman for the agency said: 'Artists and entertainers themselves aren’t yet seen as content that can be combined with technology, but the Dentsu group believes the need to develop android entertainers will grow.' Performing with natural movements, while voiced and controlled remotely by a voice impersonator, the robot was put through its paces in front of an incredulous audience for the first time on Nippon TV. For now, the  Matsukoroid robot is controlled by an human operator. But with 600 stock 'Deluxe' phases it can use in reply to voice and face recognition, it's hoped the Matsukoroid will be free of its operator by the end of the series as it learns on the job. Ishiguro’s science lab used the latest  silicon skin and state-of-the-art electronic actuators to achieve a lifelike look. Creating the android: Matsukoroid robot was developed at a cost of around £55,931 by the Japanese labs . Finishing touches: Japan’s top make-up artist was brought in to apply the finishing touches to  Matsukoroid . Japan’s top make-up artist was brought in to finish the job of making the bot glamorous. Observers said the effect was realistic enough to go beyond the creepy. Mr Ishiguro said: 'Because of advances in robotics, difficulty in telling man and machine apart could soon become reality.' Pepper is the first humanoid robot designed to live with humans . Looking slightly put out by his new, unpaid rival, the star - one of Japan's most overworked entertainers - said he was looking forward to 'using the robot to take a few well deserved days off'. Despite the jokes, the android could be part of trend that has a more sober side. According to research company Gartner, one in three jobs will be replaced by some kind of software, robot or smart machine by 2025. Matsukoroid was developed at a cost of around £55,931 by the Japanese labs that already produced an autonomous experimental news-reader. The theory goes that as robots start to look more human, people will become more sympathetic towards them. But with many Japanese already predisposed to being sympathetic to robots, because of the friendly way they are portrayed in Japanese popular culture, Mr Deluxe said he noticed his fans were more inclined to approach his clone rather than himself. During the recording of Matsuko Matsuko, one young fan even declared his love for Mr Deluxe through the robot and planted a kiss on the bot's thin, lipsticked-mouth during Saturday’s programme. Yuya Furukawa, the creative genius behind a raft of entertainment robots including the remarkable Pepper, wants to spearhead a robotics revolution for the consumer, where entertainment robots are just the start. Mr Deluxe, who is popular in Japan for his frankness, said: 'I see myself as other people see me for the first time, and it was a significant moment' Ishiguro’s science lab used the latest silicon skin and state-of-the-art electronic actuators to achieve a lifelike look . Collaboration: World-famous roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro (left), worked with Japan’s top advertising agency, Dentsu . The advertising company recently launched the Dentsu Robot Promotion Centre to tackle the new business which it says will be a 'new industrial revolution, second only to the internet'. Currently, the domestic robot market is worth about 900 billion yen (about £5billion) according to Japan’s trade ministry, which forecasts a 10-fold increase  by 2035. Dentsu also helped develop the first robot in space Kirobo – a 13-inch tall humanoid robot - which it plans to adapt as another personal entertainment drone. It was announced earlier this year that from this summer, the world’s first hotel staffed by robots will be opened in Japan. Chillingly life-like robots are causing a storm in Japan – where their creators are about to launch them as actresses, full-size mechanical copies for pop idol fans, and clones of the dearly departed. There is even talk that the naturalistic, even engaging she-droids may be taken up as men as partners in the not-too-distant future. Android Asuna was a star attraction at Tokyo Designers’ Week showcase last year and she is one of a series of geminoids, as their inventor dubs them, that are ripe for commercialisation says their creator - robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. Chillingly life-like robots are causing a storm in Japan – where their creators are about to launch them as actresses and full-size mechanical copies for pop idol fans . Android Asuna was a star attraction at Tokyo Designers’ Week showcase last year. She relies on a camera rigged behind her that is relayed to a remote human controller to give her life . Asuna is so convincing that many bowed respectfully before requesting politely to take her photo or join a selfie. Unable, for now, to use some of the advanced artificial intelligence (AI), face and voice recognition systems that some Japanese robots coming on the market now use, Asuna relies on a camera rigged behind her that is relayed to a remote human controller to give her life. This so-called tele-presence enables Asuna to come alive, taking on the operator’s personality. A fully independent version of the geminoid is expected in 10 years using all the above technologies to make her virtually indistinguishable from humans says Takeshi Mita, CEO of A-Lab in Tokyo, the company working with Prof. Ishiguro to make Asuna and her kind commercial. Previous attempts by Prof. Ishiguro's team had been dismissed as unconvincing and prone to what is known as the 'Uncanny Valley syndrome'. This is a term coined by another Japanese professor of robotics, Masahiro Mori. It describes the response of revulsion and creepiness when faced with something that looks almost, but somehow not quite, human. As robots become as dexterous as Asuna at mimicking humanity, so the theory goes, the syndrome will erase itself. 'Androids for the sex industry are a definite possibly' Already Asuna and other androids from A-lab have had a taste of the limelight, appearing on stage and voicing actors lines using tele-presence. A-lab also hopes to tap into another big business in Japan - the popularity of fantasy figurines that appeal to Japan’s legions of nerdy men or 'otaku'. As A-lab is working with highly respected Prof. Ishiguro, Mr Mita says the company has ruled out producing androids that might be used for sex. But a spokesman working with Ishiguro’s lab says it is not a great leap of imagination to think similar robots, given the advancement in robotics and silicone skin technology, will be used for sex. 'Physical relations will be possible in general with such androids,' said Takahashi Komiyama. 'Androids for the sex industry are a definite possibly. Some have even fallen in love with Ishiguro’s geminoids. So we can't rule those relationships out.'
highlights: Robotic clone of cross-dressing Japanese TV star made on-screen debut .
  Matsuko Deluxe shared stage with Matsukoroid doppelganger on Saturday .
  Japanese engineers are trying to replace celebrities with lifelike androids .
  Software, robots or smart machines could replace third of jobs by 2025 .
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