This past August the BBC began a social experiment in user-generated content (UGC) to generate buzz surrounding the launch of a forthcoming television series called The Virtual Revolution which has been an open and collaborative production the encouraged the online audience to help shape the series.

The Virtual Revolution looks at the impact that digital media has on the world today and speaks with some of the biggest names of the web including Jimmy Wales, Arianna Huffington, Chad Hurley and the inventor of the web himself, Time Berners Lee.

Visitors are encouraged to participate through the campaign website and create mash-up videos using clips from the show which have been made available for personal use and re-editing purposes.

As a way of promoting the series, fans were allowed to combine different interview to rearrange and change the meanings of conversations. The user-generated mash ups have since been released online to build up the profile of the series and generate buzz.

The original 10 minutes of footage that was downloadable to visitors was made available on August 27, 2009 and the company said that the experiment would be closely monitored to see how successful the involvement of consumers in the production process would prove.

Today’s launch of the first episode promises to be a unique experience. “This is an incredibly brave project which, through its integration of social technologies, has enabled people to contribute to a major BBC documentary. Most intriguingly, by challenging people to mess around with their rushes they gave free rein to viral sensations such as cassetteboy,” said Adam Abu-Nab, strategist at Robber Republic, which has seeded the content online.