Linux - Creating Virtual Audio Device

Question

My question here is rather simple. How does one create a purely virtual audio device in ALSA that would be capable of:

1. being used as an audio output destination,

2. being used as an audio input source, outputting whatever has been sent to it.

What I'm essentially trying to achieve is outputting sound to this device, and using that device as a mic in another application (like Skype, for example), which allows me to play sounds and music in skype or whatever else that would be.

Information on this is really obscure, and search results show mostly irrelevant things, like splitting device outputs or something like that. I really have no idea where and what to look for now, so any help would be incredibly appreciated.

Answer 1

$ modprobe snd-aloop

PS Off-topic: Stackexchange is broken. It won't post the one-liner answer citing "Please check the error above. But there's no error. Oh, there it is, on the side, wrapped in a ribbon, dissolving into all the static on right-hand column. Dear SE, I'm sure you can afford to test your UI a bit more."