• by Aaron Baar , June 15, 2011

Having challenged students to launch a rocket into space using only their laptop computers last year, Sony and Intel are heading under the sea, helping consumers find virtual buried treasure located in the seas of Google Earth.

The game, called "Oceans of Treasure," challenges people to find 20 prizes, including a grand prize of $1 million, that have been scattered throughout the virtual oceans on Google Earth. Reached via a Facebook app, the game is the first to use the Google Earth program for a game, adding a realistic feel to treasure hunting.

"The game is a hunt for sunken loot in Google Earth," Gavin Lester, creative director at Sony advertising agency 180 LA, tells Marketing Daily. "As you navigate around the Earth, you're using the Google Earth program."

The game involves players solving geographical clues, telling them to look in certain oceanic locations (a specific distance off a coast, for instance). Using a virtual sonar, players have five minutes to find an object under the ocean. Once they do, they dive down to scan it to determine whether it's a prize or clues to search in another location.

Since the game launched on June 1, only two prizes have been found, neither of which is the grand prize, Lester says. The game, which can also be played here, is positioned as "presented by Sony and Intel."

"As leaders of innovation, Sony and Intel are constantly looking to engage consumers in new ways," Lester says. "This is a way to do that."

The game is part of Sony's Project Shiphunt, in which a group of Michigan high school students are looking for a sunken ship using Sony VAIO laptop computers (powered by second-generation Intel chips). Project Shiphunt is similar to last year's Rocket Project, which challenged eight high school students to launch a rocket into the Earth's stratosphere using only Sony laptop computers.

"Sony and Intel are in the midst of our second major challenge in as many years," "Last year's Project Rocket and this year's Project Shiphunt asks students to put our technology to the ultimate test, demonstrating that Sony and Intel technology can drive the most imaginative challenges out there," Ken Byers, Sony Electronics marketing manager, said in a statement emailed to Marketing Daily about the initiative. "It's incredible to see the students rise to the challenge. We're certain this project will be a life-changing experience for them."

The game has caught on with consumers. Since its launch on June 1, Sony has added about 300,000 fans to its Facebook page, Lester says.