Setting the stage: fans get a virtual behind-the-scenes look at a popular television show. (web application).

Every Thursday evening, hardcore fans of NBC's hit television show Will & Grace tune out everything around them as they tune in to the half-hour sitcom about two close friends who would make a perfect couple if it weren't for the fact that he is gay and she is straight. For some viewers though, a weekly fix of the show's zany, lovable characters is not enough, as can be witnessed by the burgeoning number of unofficial Will & Grace sites on the Internet. To satisfy these fans' hunger for just about anything Will & Grace, NBC is offering a unique experience--a 3D virtual tour of the show's primary sets at www.nbc.com.

"With interest in Will & Grace at an all-time high, the virtual tour provides followers of the show with new ways to involve themselves in the characters' living space," says Maureen Burke, senior marketing manager at Pulse Entertainment, which spearheaded the project. Pulse previously collaborated with the network to produce an interactive virtual Jay Leno character, which appeared on The Tonight Show and is still featured on NBC's Web site.

The immersive digital set environments provide a first-person look at Will's apartment and Grace's office, the focal points of the show. With a keyboard stroke, visitors can navigate the photorealistic models and learn behind-the-scenes tidbits about the show, or they can use their mouse buttons to interact with various props. For instance, fans will learn that production assistants often write personal messages on the to-do list that appears on the chalkboard in Grace's office. Or if they open the refrigerator in Grace's office, it will reveal a stash of alcohol that belongs to Grace's wealthy socialite assistant, Karen, who is often seen on the show with a martini in hand.

"I believe the Will & Grace application is the first interactive photorealistic walkthrough of a TV show's sets to appear on the Web. So there wasn't any established course that we could follow," says Burke. "We had to figure things out as we went along."

To build the virtual sets, Pulse teamed with image-based content creator RealViz. First, the group spent two hours photographing the actual show sets from every angle, then used RealViz's Stitcher software to combine the photos into a single panoramic image. Next, they transformed the photographic scene ...