• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, May 2, 2011

Last year, Sony outfitted eight students with Sony laptops, complete with Intel core processors, and challenged them to launch a rocket into the stratosphere, using the technology provided.

This year, students will be looking down, rather than up. Project Shiphunt is challenging a select group of high school students in Michigan to find a sunken ship using Sony VAIO laptops powered by 2nd generation Intel core processors. 

Talk about an example of making learning fun and exciting. 

Leading the expedition is Dr. James P. Delgado, Ph.D., Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Maritime Heritage Program. 

The students will work together as a team to find a sunken ship. Their experience begins at NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Mich., where they'll learn about the history of ship hunting and the tools needed to explore and find a shipwreck, and select a missing shipwreck they'd like to locate. 

To drive interest in this initiative, 180 Los Angeles, Sony's agency of record, created a game in Google Earth called "Oceans of Treasure." 

Gamers can virtually collect data and equipment needed to find a faux sunken ship. Once that's complete, gamers can dive through the waters and find the ship. See the "Oceans of Treasure" game trailer here.

Participants who play the game and sign up for Sony's sweepstakes are eligible to win Sony/Intel products. The actual ship hunters win an educational experience, a scholastic stipend and get to keep the Sony VAIO laptops used in the hunt.

"To spread word of the project, the footage will be cut into several short films and a long form piece," said Ken Byers, senior marketing manager at SonyElectronics. "Banners, takeovers, and other paid units along with an earned media plan will be used to push the initiative, " continued Byers.  

The shipwreck search will take place from late spring into the summer. 

180 Los Angeles started crafting the "Oceans of Treasure" game in January. Said Ben Barney, copywriter at the agency: "This isn't just a technology story, though. It's a human story powered by technology. Our goal is to give a group of young students the experience of a lifetime. And possibly, inspire more in the process."