A groundbreaking group of artists who once kidnapped two members of the public then broadcast their captivity on the internet have launched a new multimedia work.

Blast Theory made international headlines when, in 1998, they invited people to pay £10 for the chance to become a hostage.

They then staged the daylight kidnap of a 27-year-old Australian temp worker and a 19-year-old shop assistant and kept them for 48 hours, streaming their captivity online.

Now the group, based in Brighton's New England Quarter, have begun a "mass participation artwork" they describe as "a mix of Eastenders and Second Life directed by Quentin Tarantino".

The installation, based in North Laine, invites members of the public to choose a plastic figure, give it a personality and enter it into a virtual world.

The characters are placed on a map and players can spend the next three weeks telling them what to do via text message.

Up to 1,000 people can play, visiting different spots in the fictional town, talking to each other, watching bands, hanging out and picking up and using objects such as custard tarts, bass guitars and step ladders.

The project, called Day of the Figurines, is intended to allow ordinary people to create an interactive artwork.

Ju Row-Farr, one of the three artists behind Blast Theory, said: "There are all sorts of things going on. There is a summer fete, there are all sorts of areas - things happen in a cemetery, there is a gig that happens at night, troops appear, there is an eclipse.

"People can meet each other and what they do can set off a chain of things. It could be me and you deciding we are going to go and have a drink, or get everyone in this room to go down to the beach and dip our feet."

In the real world the game takes 24 days, but in the virtual town just 24 hours pass.

Players can generally only see those events that happen close by, which means they each have a different experience.

It is possible to die, and players have to keep their characters alive with food, drink and medicine.

Ms Row-Farr said: "The aim if for people to help other people. If you do that or how you do that is up to you. Everything you have done in the game has a cost."

She said she sees the work as a "social space". She said: "In a way it feels crude, like a board game, but the stuff going on is incredibly rich.

"This game takes on a life of its own. I am really excited because we don't know what people will make of it."

In the evening there is a gig by a Scandinavian metal band, which gets interrupted by a gang of marauding troops.

Players are not charged for texts they receive. The texts they send are charged as normal. Personal details are not shared with anyone. Join any day of the week by visiting 28 Kensington Street between noon and 4pm.

Blast Theory is in the process of moving to Wellington Road, Portslade. Ms Row-Farr and her co-artists Nick Tandavanitj and Matt Adams have been working on Day of the Figurines for two years in collaboration with Mixed Reality from the University of Nottingham.

The group have previously won four BAFTA nominations and the Prix Ars Electronica. (corr) They have exhibited at Tate Online and The Science Museum and in Sydney, Rotterdam, Palestine, Taiwan, Japan and Chicago.

Day of the Figurines, partly funded by the EU, has taken place in Berlin and Singapore with a trial run at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona.

This is the first time it has come to the UK. It began on Wednesday and will last until April 27.