Topps 3D Live brings virtual reality to baseball cards

Topps - a familiar name to generations of baseball fans - has teamed up with a company called Total Immersion to launch a new series of 3D cards that would have been unimaginable in the days before the Internet.

Now, with a PC and a WebCam, collectors can watch as the players on their cards come alive - popping up in full 3D for interactive "augmented reality" minigames including batting, fielding and pitching drills.

Here's how it works: After you've snagged one of the "Topps 3D Live" cards - they come in both Topps 2009 Baseball Series 1 and Topps Attax packs - you log on to ToppsTown.com and select the player on your card.

Then, simply hold the card up to a standard WebCam and - voila! - Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Johan Santana or one of 30 other stars appear to emerge from the card, in 3D, on your computer screen - for a series of simple games playable using your keyboard.