Cindy Swanson, CyberSnoop: The Case of the Megawoosh

It's all over the Internet and being forwarded by e-mail...one of those videos that you just have to see to believe. But can you really believe it?

On YouTube and elsewhere, the video is being called The Megawoosh. The video clip is of a man--engineer Bruno Kammerl--in a neoprene suit, zooming down a slide, soaring off a ramp and traveling an incredibly long distance before ending up splashing into a small wading pool. Is it for real?

The answer is NO. Actually, the video wasn't meant to be real...it was developed as a viral ad for Microsoft Germany's Office Project 2007.

So how was the video really done? Here's what the website newteevee.com tells us, and I quote:

As some bloggers guessed, it’s a case of creative compositing, meaning that the clip we get to see is based on multiple elements that were combined together to create a final video. A stuntman slides down the slide, secured by a rope. Then there’s a body flying through the air, which is animated. And finally, the big splash. "He actually jumped from a wooden ramp into the pool," explains Koenigs. Of course, you don’t get to see any of this in the final clip, thanks to careful editing that makes it look like a single take.

Judging by the fact that over a million people viewed the Megawoosh video in just the first week it was on the Internet, it looks like Microsoft accomplished their goal of getting people to watch it!

Clearing up another internet rumor, this is Cindy Swanson, CyberSnoop...reminding you to check it out BEFORE you hit that "send" button!

Here's the video: