GUANGZHOU - A university student has won the hearts of Chinese netizens after being captured during the opening ceremony of the Asian Games fixing the same smile for nearly 20 minutes of speeches.

Photogenic Games hostess Wu Yi has been dubbed "Miss Smile" by China's huge online community, estimated at 420 million, after pulling off the statuesque feat at Friday's spectacular curtain raiser.

Wu, a foreign studies student, was caught on camera as she patiently stood beside officials making lengthy speeches, sparking frenzied interest on the Internet and in the local media.

"I didn't know the camera was set on me. I thought they were only shooting the officials," she was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

The "Etiquette Angels" at the Games go through rigorous training to be hostesses -- including learning how to sit, smile and stand gracefully for long periods of time.