China has sparked controversy by using computer-generated imagery in the Olympics opening ceremony, says Atticus. Why don't we go the whole hog the next time, and computer generate the whole show?

All but the last of the giant firework footsteps we saw at the opening ceremony were computer generated, because the organisers thought it too difficult to film the real fireworks. We've also just learnt that the nine-year-old girl who sang at the ceremony used another (less photogenic) girl's voice.

There's no doubt that this was the greatest show on Earth, but this revelation could give us in London a sliver of hope in emulating it. If they've set a precedent with a computer-generated sequence at the opening, why not computer generate the whole ceremony in four years? We'd be able to do it on the cheap and put on a thunderous show.

We could produce pyrotechics worthy of Batman – and even throw in a few dancing robots for the hell of it! And if we want to get higher up the medal table, we could computer generate our atheletes too, and give ourselves a superman and wonderwoman or two.