At first glance, the virtual world Second Life would seem to have little in common with the broadcast company CBS.

But the link between old-world and new-world media will expand later this month. For the first time, the Oct. 24 episode of the popular television show "CSI:NY" will direct viewers to Second Life, where they can play the roll of an investigator, according to details released this week at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in San Jose.

The pioneering broadcast is evidence of a growing push by virtual worlds to attract mainstream audiences, and a push by mainstream media to tap into the burgeoning virtual worlds. Up to now, many visitors to places like Second Life - where participants often adopt online personas, or avatars, to socialize - have been experienced computer users willing to wade through complex Web sites and technologies. But a wave of new technologies is beginning to change that, potentially opening the worlds to less technically skilled fans.

The CSI project has the goal of taking an existing virtual world and "making it ready for mass market use," said Chief Executive Sibley Verbeck, whose Electric Sheep Company is developing technology CBS will use. Included is a software "viewer" that has the familiar look of a Web browser and is designed to make it simpler for novices to sign in and learn to use Second Life, Verbeck said.

Several other examples of this technological shift were on display at the two-day conference. "I think we are seeing the biggest shift in (virtual world) technical architecture in 30 years," said Raph Koster, president of the San Diego company, Areae.

Cumbersome software

Many virtual-worlds operators acknowledge that using their worlds can be cumbersome, and the custom software people need to download to navigate them is expensive to build. Koster hopes to solve these problems with his Metaplace technology designed to simplify creating virtual worlds.

"I think it is basically a period of ferment," he said.

IBM and Pelican Crossing, a Mission Viejo company, also strive for greater ease of use. The two companies unveiled a jointly developed product they are testing to let people access any virtual world from a Web page in a browser.

People will be able to surf from virtual world to virtual world, something they can't do now, said IBM Global v-Business Strategist Peter Finn.

The consequence of such development could be profound. Experts say the number of virtual worlds could skyrocket and their appeal could grow.

"I do believe we are going to see a tremendous rise in this middle ground" of sites that are easier to use and more accessible, said Steve Prentice, chief of research at Gartner.

Many people who think of virtual worlds think of sites such as Second Life and the roll-playing game, World of Warcraft, where users spend hours learning their way around and interacting. Lighter-weight sites with easier set-up procedures and small downloads - or no downloads at all - will let people come and go more quickly.

"Having a very easily accessible service is key to getting a large mass of users," said Timo Soininen, chief executive of Sulake, the parent company of the virtual world site for teenagers, Habbo. "I think it's fundamental in going from a niche thing to a mass audience."

Habbo, said Soininen, is preparing a revamping in the next few weeks to make signing up and getting involved easier.

"The things that are growing very fast are the things that are very accessible," agreed Sharon Wienbar, managing director at Scale Venture Partners. The trend "is potentially very important, especially if it disrupts some other established leaders."

Clearly existing leaders see the trend. Second Life, for instance, announced Wednesday a technical collaboration with IBM that it believes will help it prepare for the changing world.

The partnership is to explore technologies that will let virtual worlds work well with one another - or interoperate. This includes finding ways for avatars to move from one world to another while maintaining their appearance, name and other attributes, a development that could make avatars created in Second Life more valuable on the Web.

Sites like Second Life will complement simpler, less fully featured sites, says Ginsu Yoon, vice president of business affairs at Linden Lab, which operates Second Life. "I don't see these as direct competition for market share against one another," Yoon said.

What's in store?

Nevertheless, it is difficult to know what the business will look like in several years. Some observers say a proliferation of easier-to-access, less-ambitious sites could fragment the market by providing narrowly focused worlds catering to special interest groups. Others contend a handful of large virtual worlds will continue to dominate, much as MySpace and Facebook dominate social networking.

Clearly there's growing interest from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. According to data from VentureOne, a unit of Dow Jones, entrepreneurs raised $226.5 million in the first three quarters of the year for virtual world, online gaming and collaborative community sites. That's a 23 percent jump from the $183.5 million raised for all of last year.

"There are very vibrant business opportunities for narrow communities," said Gus Tai, a general partner at the venture firm, Trinity Ventures. "I'm seeing creative business plans being put forth."