It’s never easy to be a young entrepreneur. But these are especially scary times to be launching a new business in Asia. With markets tanking, banks failing, and economies faltering, startups face even more challenges than usual. But that isn’t stopping this year’s group of finalists in BusinessWeek’s annual look at the top young entrepreneurs in Asia. After scouring suggestions from readers and BusinessWeek reporters in the region, we have come up with our finalists, 26 young Asia-Pacific business whizzes.

Although this stellar lineup of entrepreneurs includes many people with glamorous IPOs, from-zero-to-hero revenues, and industry recognition for their products, they took the tough decision to leave the comfort of day jobs for the risky yet potentially rewarding chance to go it on their own. And they’re confident that, once the turmoil subsides, Asia will remain a growth engine for the global economy and will reward entrepreneurs who step out and take chances.

Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office congratulates the following entrepreneurs for making IDMPO and Singapore proud.

Darius Cheong – A simple idea goes a long way for Darius Cheong, CEO and co-founder of TenCube. After his fellow co-founder lost his mobile phone, the two got together to find a solution to this familiar problem. The two now sell mobile-phone security software called WaveSecure. Among other features, WaveSecure allows you to lock your phone remotely, track usage of the device, back up data through the Web, and wipe data permanently. The company boasts high-profile clients such as the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Defense Ministry. The consumer version of WaveSecure proved to be very popular when it was launched in December 2007; the company had 60,000 WebSecure users within 90 days of its launch. Cheong is a graduate of the National University of Singapore and was formerly head of the business development team at GetIT, a boutique technology marketing firm in Singapore.

Stanley Han – Stanley Han wrote his own success story when his company created KooBits, a platform for children to create interactive stories, publish e-books, and network with other KooBits users. KooBits has just been launched in more than 60 schools in Singapore and several hundred training centers in Indonesia. Han, a National University of Singapore engineering graduate, plans to launch KooBits in China, Europe, and Australia in 2008.

Aileen Sim – Aileen Sim saw the potential of starting a business in the virtual world before others did. In 2006, Sim co-founded First Meta, a leading provider of financial services for virtual worlds. A year later, her company launched the first virtual-world credit card, the MetaCard. A graduate of the National University of Singapore, she has helped raise $1.7 million for her company and together with her team has brought First Meta to the forefront of integrating real and virtual economies. Her company has been featured in such leading media as TechCrunch, CNET Asia, Wired, and BBC World Service.

Voting for the Asia’s Best Entrepreneur is still on, show your support.