SUNSET BEACH –  When Second Life residents involve themselves with CSI: New York, they will also have the option to choose a new viewer.

The Electric Sheep Company created the OnRez viewer to improve the Second Life experience and lower the barrier to entry for new users.

The OnRez viewer is the first viewer to be commercially licensed by Linden Lab. Electric Sheep representative Hank Hoodoo (Rl Jonah Gold), who is involved with the technical aspects of the CSI project said that the user interface resembles familiar Web browsers and is focused on bringing the Web and virtual worlds closer together. Apparently, it will also tie in to other OnRez services, shopping and searching and will more easily allow web browsing from within the grid.

The viewer will be available after the broadcast of the CSI:NY episode that airs on Oct. 24. Residents who log into Second Life through the CBS website then will be taken to a special area where they can participate in special events planned by Zuiker, creator of CSI and built by the Electric Sheep Company.

“The custom viewer is an important part of our cross-platform initiative around CSI: New York,” Zuiker said.  “We wanted to make the transition between the show, the Web and Second Life as seamless as possible. The new viewer makes navigating the virtual world more intuitive and accessible to all of the show’s fans.”

The most superficial Second Lifer experience will have avatars wander the set shown in the episode. Braver souls will be able to solve a special murder mystery written by Zuiker and set in-world. In this scenario, there will be clues around the murder scene and Zuiker will post and rank the 100 people who come closest to his explanation of the murder, and, he said, the winner will “get a virtual gift for his or her avatar.”

Finally, fans of the show and of Second Life can blend their passions by getting their own SL CSI kit and to try to solve the murder in the October 24th episode, which will be a cliffhanger not revealed on television until February. Zuiker is clear that he's not favoring the virtual world participants; they will receive no extra clues as to how the story unfolds.

"What I want to do is keep the spirit of the brand and the story line alive in Second Life,” he said.

Hoodoo said that he and the rest of the Electric Sheep are excited about the project and see it as another step forward for the ESC. He also said that the ESC will continue to develop and support the viewer after the CSI project ends. 

Sibley Verbeck, CEO of the Electric Sheep Company sees this as a way they can maximize virtual world initiatives.