世界虚构明星榜出炉 万宝路牛仔最“牛”

A billboard advertisement showing tobacco icon Marlboro Man is seen in a 1997 file photo.

They influence everything from how we look and act to eat and speak and have even helped change the course of history -- but they are not real.

And topping a list of "The 101 most influential* people who never lived" in a book released* on Tuesday is the Marlboro* Man -- a manly* American cowboy* who came out in the 1950s and helped boost* sales of Marlboro cigarettes*.

"The creatures* we push out of our minds into the real world are fully capable of pushing back with surprising consequences*," Jeremy Salter, one of the US book's three authors said.

Coming in at No. 2 on the list is Big Brother of George Orwell's "1984," followed by King Arthur, who the authors say stands for many the ideal monarch*, and Santa Claus comes in at No. 4.

"Santa Claus governs* our entire economy for the last quarter of the year and without him businesses would go broke," said co-author Allan Lazar.

Barbie "the plastic* babe who became a role model for millions of little girls, setting an impossible standard for beauty and style" makes the list at No. 43.

"The idea came to us that influential characters didn't have to exist, that fictional* characters were just as important in our lives, even in maybe some cases more so than real people," Lazar said.

Even the Loch Ness Monster makes the list at No. 56.

"As the most popular tourist attraction in Scotland, Nessie's influence on the cash flow* of that country has been significant," wrote the authors of "The 101 most influential people who never lived."

(SD-Agencies)