BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- "Fake Steve Jobs," which has puzzled curious people for almost 14 months, is exposed as a senior editor at Forbes, U.S. media reports said Tuesday.

    "Fake Steve Jobs," a blogger whose satirical blog "The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs" commenting on Apple, has attracted numerous readers for his parody of the Apple chairman as a megalomaniac and poking fun at an array of his tech industry peers. The New York Times finally revealed him as Dan Lyons.

     "Well it had to happen," Lyons, 46, wrote in his Aug. 5 blog post. "Honestly, I can't believe it's taken this long. But as you may have heard, I've been busted by a newspaper reporter. My cover has been blown."

    Why is the discovery so popular? "People love a mystery," said Josh Bernoff, a social media analyst at Forrester Research. Moreover, "Lyons was good at perpetuating the parody. It generates interest. It's a brilliant marketing strategy to hide your identity." As Jobs is extremely secretive and doesn't comment on Apple's movements except in ritualized ways, it directly benefits the company.

    Before the discovery, some thought the author of the blog was tech columnist Andy Ihnatko. Others thought it was actor Harry Shearer. Still others called out various well-known tech bloggers as the true Fake Steve. With the exposure, the fun is over.

    Lyons is furious at the media's dig.

    "You did the sleuthing. You put the pieces of the puzzle together. You went through my trash, hacked into my computer, and put listening devices in my home. Now you've ruined the mystery of Fake Steve, robbing thousands of people around the world of their sense of childlike wonder. Hope you feel good about yourself, you mangina," Lyons wrote in his blog.

    "The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs" will become a part of Forbes.com beginning Aug. 6.

    (Agencies)