Patent application for Seamless Ad

Video game developer and marketing company Nightlife Interactive has filed for U.S. patent protection for its brand of game advertising, known as the Seamless Ad. Created in conjunction with online marketing firm In Touch Media Group, the Seamless Ad allows players to click on advertisements without interrupting the game. Instead, an e-mail from the advertiser is sent to the player's in-box.

Nightlife Interactive is currently developing "Nightscape," a role-playing game that incorporates Seamless Ads into a virtual world of urban bars and clubs. Nightlife Interactive CEO Bob Cefail described the game, which is scheduled for a summer 2007 release, as "a cross between MySpace, Second Life and Match.com." Video game advertising has recently been recognized as a potentially lucrative market, and big technology companies have begun to take note--including Microsoft, which bought in-game advertiser Massive in May.