The Matrix is here, and it's closer than you think. Your local bar, the phone box over the road, the odd looking shopkeeper in the newsagents; be observant and keep your wits about you, for they may all be part of the new phenomenon sweeping the globe, the crossover between cyber space and reality that is live urban gaming.

In a postmodern medley of media, live urban gaming is where online meets off, where strategy meets fantasy and where the technology of the new millennium enables role playing to reach a new level of interaction and involvement between the bedrooms of computer junkies and the streets of our cities. Dungeons and Dragons burst onto the scene of teenage escapism in 1973 with it's fantasy-fuelled, Tolkien inspired format, and became the number one role-playing game of choice for gamers seeking to set their imagination and wit against fellow players. Famed for becoming a cult craze in the 70's and 80's among fantasy fans, the game soon spread to a TV cartoon, board games, magazines and video games, causing a stir in religious circles as they denounced its perceived involvement in the occult. Still revered to this day, the game paved the way for a new generation of role playing games which, with the onset of fast developing technology, are changing the face of gaming forever.

Global Positioning System (GPS) technology first enabled the practice of "geocashing", whereby treasure would be hidden and hunted for by gamers using co-ordinates posted online and handheld computers, mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's), a pastime particularly popular in the 1990's. Geocashing paved the way for the new wave of live urban games, where online fantasy stories and clues are used to solve a mystery and live events complement community message boards, meetings and cards which form part of a complex and challenging puzzle. One such game is Perplex City (www.perplexcity.com), which harnesses the essence of role-playing in gaming and involves complex clue searches as well as search and swap meets in local venues. By meeting fellow players a social element is introduced to gaming, allowing online forums to be precursors to real life meetings and social events for the like-minded.

The mixing of media platforms is evident too with cult TV shows such as 'Lost', whereby cryptic clues and storylines are enhanced by online sites and forums designed to add to the enjoyment of the show. By blending the arenas in which a product is consumed, in this case the TV show, a deeper level of enjoyment can be obtained, and the cult sense is heightened by the fact that the true fans will be the ones who pursue the information further and delve deep online for pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

Steve Johnson, author of "Everything Bad is Good for you", purports that the more complex a TV show, video/ computer game or puzzle is, the more skills can be developed in strategy development, problem solving and logic. Described by Johnson as the 'sleeper curve', we see how the activities commonly derided as a wasted leisure time such as gaming and TV watching have nutritional, cerebral benefits; given the growing complexity of games such as Perplex City, the need for intellectual stimulation can be clearly seen. By taking the gaming concept to the streets, there is every possibility that perceptions of the bedroom geek might be altered for good, with urban cool acting as the tipping point in favour of the cyber community so commonly classed as the über underdog.

The Blinkenlights project (www.blinkenlights.de) shows interactive gaming in a different light…literally. The project saw the use of urban buildings in Berlin as platforms on which light sequences could be played on lamps illuminating the windows in controlled sequences, love messages could be portrayed using the large scale illuminated windows as digital displays, and mobile phones could control the bat and ball game "Pong" on the building facades for large scale playing.

With the constant evolution of technology, the realm of possibilities for gaming is endless, as highlighted by the Future Laboratory in their Autumn 2005 trend briefing. Our world is a wireless hub of technological advancement, and by mixing the benefits of WiFi with Bluetooth, GPS with mobile phone technology, Podcasts with TV, and all variants besides, the sky is the limit for how the interaction can develop.

Implications for cultural impact are enormous. If concepts from gaming are taken into marketing, the retail world will should sit up and take note. To gain attention from consumers, advertising teasers could take any form and the more cult status gained, the better. Imagine an ad campaign existing solely in a world only discoverable through clues, both online and off. By using all the senses in reaction to an advertising game, brands could appeal on a 5-Dimensional level to target audiences, reversing the bombardment of media messages and turning advertising into a manufactured cool hunt.

Sounds, visuals, location, imagination, media files and cyberspace all play their part in urban gaming, challenging the intellect in constantly evolving ways. The possibilities emerge as quickly as technology develops and are bound only by the limits of the wild imaginations of game creators. As the sleeper curve sharpens, our consumption of media deepens, blurring the boundaries between surreality and reality. If gaming was once a method of escape, it now truly surrounds us.