By Ge Lili, Yang Ruoyu and Zhao Ran

Over the past year, several people have shot to fame or notoriety, thanks (or no thanks) to the Internet. They have gained recognition from Internet users for a variety of reasons, from work they have done and suffering they have endured to things they have said, from the outrageous to the downright arrogant. People.com.cn listed the top 10 Internet figures.

Li Gang (left) and Li Qiming (right)

No.1 Li Gang and Li Qiming

The father and son quickly became famous both in China and overseas when the son, Li Qiming, yelled, "Sue me if you dare. My father is Li Gang," after running over two university students, one of whom later died, on October 16 in Hebei University.

The father Li Gang is a deputy director of a public security bureau in Baoding, Hebei Province.

The family of the dead student, Chen Xiaofeng, said they hoped the son would be sentenced to death. But the family later fired their lawyer, and accepted 460,000 yuan ($69,140) from Li Gang as compensation.

Internet users were outraged, and showed it by coining a new satirical phrase: "My father is Li Gang."

No.2 Zhang Deli

The head of a district tourism bureau in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, was sarcastically named Lanzhou's most powerful former bureau head by Internet users.

After a traffic dispute with a motorcyclist on May 19 escalated into a fight, Zhang yelled, "Do you know who I am? I am a bureau head!"

When a policeman asked them both to go to the police station, Zhang asked him, "Which station are you from? Tell me your name and I will call your bureau. I am the director of a district tourism bureau."

Zhang was later removed from his position.

Shoushou (left) and Ma Nuo (right)

No.3 Shoushou

The real name of this famous car show model is Zhai Ling, who had gained celebrity after her "starring role" in an online sex video.

Internet images of her left little to the imagination and caused a nationwide sen-sation. Zhai later regretted what she did, and even took some time off model work. But the scandal did not seem to derail her career too much, as she became the real star at the Beijing auto show in April.

No.4 Ma Nuo

This "material girl" was condemned as a gold-digger by many netizens after appearing on Jiangsu TV's dating show "If You Are the One," thanks to now infamous remarks such as "I'd rather cry in a BMW than smile on a bicycle," which sparked heated discussions on the Internet about love and money.

Critics said Ma's comments showed a prevailing unhealthy attitude where people will sacrifice emotional feelings for materialistic gains.

No.5 Zhao Zuohai

This farmer from Zhaolou village, Henan Province, had been in jail for almost a decade for murder, when the case took a dramatic twist.

He had been convicted of murdering Zhao Zhenshang, who disappeared without trace on October 1997. Two years later, villagers discovered a body minus its head and limbs in a well, and believed the corpse to be his.

The finger of suspicion pointed to Zhao Zuohai, as he had recently been in a dispute with Zhao Zhenshang. Zhao Zuohai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in 2002.

However, the conviction began to look shaky, to say the least, when Zhao Zhenshang returned to the village alive and well to apply for medical insurance. He said he had fled because he was afraid that Zhao Zuohai might kill him.

Zhao Zuohai was released and compensated 650,000 yuan ($95,500).

No.6 Xie Yalong

The former vice chairman of the China Football Association has been described by some as a tumor in a Chinese football system plagued by corruption.

He was arrested for receiving bribes and match fixing in September. Over the past years, match fixing, corrupt referees and illegal gambling have stunted the development of Chinese football.

Xie was in charge of the association between 2005 and 2008. During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, many Chinese football fans even chanted slogans calling for him to step down during Olympic matches.

No.7 Luo Yaping

The former chief of the Shuncheng Municipal Land and Resources Bureau in Fushun, Liaoning Province, embezzled more than 100 million yuan ($15 million). She is regarded as the lowest-ranking official to display the most greed.

The 50-year-old received bribes and kickbacks from land-use and household relocation fees. Not content with 145 million yuan ($21 million) in ill-gained funds, she also had illicit sexual relationships with her superior and subordinate.

Police arrested Luo in 2007 based on a tip-off by a real estate developer. Her trial is still underway.

No.8 Fang Zhouzi

Known as the "science cop," Fang came under the spotlight in recent years for helping expose academic misconduct. One of his cases resulted in his being attacked in August near his residence in Beijing.

He outed Tang Jun, former president of Microsoft China, for making false claims about his academic qualifications.

A court in Beijing earlier sentenced Xiao Chuanguo, director of the Tongji Medical College at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, to five and a half months in detention for plotting the attack against Fang. Fang had accused Xiao of academic fraud.

Wu Yi (left) and Li Yi (right)

No.9 Wu Yi

The Miss Etiquette of the Guangzhou Asian Games won over Internet users with a 20-minute feat of continuous smiling while officials made speeches during the Games' opening ceremony. She earned herself the moniker "wei xiaojie," which means "smiling lady."

The 1.78-meter-tall Wu is a recent graduate of the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

"I didn't mean to keep smiling. The posture became natural after 40 days of professional training," Wu said.

Some Internet users were divided over Wu's smile, some saying it made them feel calm and warm, while others derided it as stiff.

No. 10 Li Yi

The priest from the Shaolong Daoist Temple in Jinyun mountain, Chongqing, was known for charging exorbitant prices for his health seminars, but gained notoriety after coming under investigation for fraud.

Li went for two hours and 22 minutes under water without breathing in a TV program in 1997. After that, Li began to promote his special methods of cultivating health, and even drew a couple of celebrity disciples along the way, most notably Hong Kong pop singer Faye Wong.

However, Li's star fell after a former student accused him of raping her, triggering a police investigation in August. He is also accused of illegally collecting money through charity sales.