MGM Creates Virtual Online Tour to Expand Fan Base, Drive New Revenue

To give fans the ultimate preview of its Stargate Universe television series, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) worked with Microsoft to create a three-dimensional virtual tour of the show's set. The team used Microsoft Photosynth to stitch together hundreds of digital images of the set and then embedded the synths in a rich Internet application built on Microsoft Silverlight. Now, visitors to the Stargate Web site can virtually explore every corner of the 1,000-year-old spaceship Destiny, the backdrop for the upcoming series. MGM expects that the new application will strengthen its connection to existing fans and extend the reach of the series to new audiences.