Marketing and all things related

From PSFK, I just learned of this novel student project called Lost. The goal is a simple one:

"The aim of LOST is to show how 7 million people connect to one another, and break the record for the game with the most players ever!"

What is novel is the way that they hope to achieve their goal. They've made the game that marketing, or have they made the marketing the game?  

Joining the game

To play LOST you have to find an invitation. An invitation is an internet address that looks like this: www.lost.eu/example, but instead of the word 'example' there are some random numbers or letters. There are invitations on the internet, and in the real world. They could be anywhere - on web pages, inside book covers, written in chalk on a pavement or across a beach in the sand.

Playing the game

Once you join the game, you will be given a username and password, so that you can log in to your profile. Your profile will show a timer, counting down to zero. If the timer reaches zero, you will lose the game. You can reset your timer by inviting someone to the game yourself.

Winning the game

For every person you invite to the game, you gain one point. For every person they invite, you gain ½ point. The person with the most number of points wins the prize when the game ends. Prizes will also be given to the nine runners up. This will happen when the game reaches 7 million players.

The project has almost 39,000 members and counting. There is a brilliant aspect here that I think is going to rival the million dollar homepage before it is done.

How could you make your marketing a game?