The high-tech game of hide-and-seek known as geocaching is the inspiration behind GeoFreakz, a new television and online property that has been green-lit for production by the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund.

Targeted at eight- to 12-year-olds, each animated episode is 90 seconds long and features children participating in geocaching games, in which an object is hidden somewhere in the world and has to be found using GPS and clues. GeoFreakz is being developed by CCI Entertainment, Teletoon, Smiley Guy Studios and Moonray Studios; 44 episodes are slated for broadcast in 2010.

An important aspect of the show will be its accompanying website, CCI co-chair Charles Falzon notes. The site will be highly interactive, featuring geocaching games with different levels (in which players can advance by picking up clues from the show) and social networking opportunities linking the gamers. There will be a ‘token economy,’ Falzon said, in which gamers can trade the objects they acquire in the games. GeoFreakz will also host events in which families can participate in live geocaching activities.

The property has title sponsorship opportunities available, and although brand integration won’t be featured in the show itself, content sponsorship and integration opportunities will be woven into the online properties, via clues, locations and objects.