Giant Bill Gates Apparition Haunts Malaysia Conference

was pelted with eggs by an angry audience member

That's because Gates' appearance was virtual, made possible not only by the magic of software, but also the magic of holographic technology.

According to Malaysian newspaper The Star, a 15-foot tall, high definition holographic image of Gates was projected onto a plastic foil screen at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, much to the amazement of several thousand conference attendees who witnessed the event.

Gates' five minute speech, recorded two weeks ago in Seattle, centered on how the growth of computing power is opening up opportunities for developing nations, and also emphasized the importance of fighting software piracy worldwide, according to a report in the New Straits Times.

Could it be that Microsoft has decided that holographic technology can be leveraged to prevent its top executives from being hit with pies and eggs during public appearances?

In February 1998, Gates was hit in the face with a cream pie outside a Flemish government building in Flanders in northern Belgium, on his way to a meeting Belgian government officials.

No word from Microsoft as to whether Ballmer might decide to deliver his next keynote holographically.