HTC is reportedly considering spinning off its Vive virtual reality division into a seperate company to distance it from its flagging smartphone business.

Rumours that chairwoman Cher Wang is pondering the move have caused shares in the company to rise, Digital Spy reports citing Focus Taiwan.

Virtual reality is expected to be a huge growth sector in 2016 and early reviews of the Vive are promising.

With HTC's share of the smartphone market falling from 10% to around 1% since 2011, there's a lot riding on the Valve-backed headset.

The Vive faces competition from Sony's PlayStation VR headset, Facebook's Oculus Rift, and Microsoft hologram-based HoloLens.

Pre-orders will begin on February 29, but pricing for the accessory is yet to be announced.