For the next two weeks, people in New York and London will have the opportunity to see halfway around the world--in real time--through a device called the Telectroscope.

Many childhood dreams are fixated on the possibility of digging to the other side of the world, and this new art exhibit by Paul St. George approximates the vision of looking into another place through the miracle of technology.

On May 20, giant drill bits appeared from out of the ground near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Tower Bridge in London, heralding the arrival of something new and different for local residents. The following day, the drill bits disappeared and constructed objects some 40 feet long resembling large telescopes took their place, opening a "door" for those in New York and London to each 'see' the other's city without leaving their own.

Alexander St. George, the grandfather of the artist, had been an engineer in Victorian England, who hypothesized it would be possible to construct an optical viewer under and through the earth, making communication easier through line of sight capability.

Paul St. George, according to the Telectroscope web site, found his grandfather's drawings and notes and has brought this idea to fruition not by creating the tunnel through the earth once envisioned, but by installing HD cameras at each end.

People on the plazas in which the six-foot-tall telectroscope lenses exist can communicate with each other by writing notes on message boards and other non-verbal communication (as there is no sound hook-up.)

The sites are open 24 hours a day through June 15. Theatre-based Artichoke, the creative company that is putting on the show, invites those with special plans, such as family reunions, business meetings or even marriage proposals to make special arrangements through the website to avoid potentially long lines.

Devotees unable to visit the show in person can find out more via the Telectroscope blog.