80% of the stuff I post about is directly stolen from Slashdot.

In a fairly bold (and quite possibly stupid) move, the Sci-Fi Channel has announced plans to use missions and campaigns of players in their own developed MMO to shape and guide a new 'ongoing' television show. They hope to have the project up and ready to air by 2010, as they work with game developer Trion World Network to create 'the ultimate merging of the TV and gaming mediums.'

Dave Howe, CEO of the Sci-Fi Channel commented:

"A television show that is on once a week isn't enough. The fans today want the experience to go beyond that. For example, we can tell them that there will be an alien invasion at a certain place in the game, at a certain time, and to be there with all their friends and be ready. The outcome depends on them. And then that battle will be part of the universe in the show."

Originally, Sci-Fi had planned a similar project for Battlestar Gallactica, but instead decided to start fresh so they would be allowed to create a world in which the players decide who the heroes and villains are.

The only other real crossover of computer game and television show came last year when CSI used Second Life to create a virtual experience where players wandered around looking for clues that corresponded to the episode.

This project is unique in that the players are actually shaping the world, instead of reacting to the events of the show. The show's creators will also be able to get instant input on how viewers feel about the direction the plot is taking them and adjust accordingly, even launching expansions and new areas based on stops players visit in the game.

Little is known about the world being created for the crossover; it will take place about 100 years in the future on a very unfamiliar Earth. Sci-Fi plans on revealing more about the project later this year at the San Diego Comic-Con.

-Slashdot / Snagwiremedia.com