By Raymond Zhou

Many celebrities in China are waiting anxiously to be named, presumably by better-known stars, to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

But what started as a campaign to help those with a rare disease has quickly evolved into a circus act about who is a who's who, with the IT industry beating showbiz at its own game, at least for now.

Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi Technology, was supposed to be the first Chinese to shower himself with a bucket of iced water. However, competitors including Victor Koo, chief of Youku Tudou, pre-empted him by simply starting the challenge themselves without picking up the gauntlet from an overseas source.