Looking to gain a foothold in the growing popularity of virtual worlds, CBS Corp. has invested in virtual world content developing firm Electric Sheep Co. The deal calls for CBS to contribute to Electric Sheep's latest round of funding, which is for $7 million, Earth Times reports. The company has said that it will use the funding to create software that will make virtual worlds available for mainstream consumption.

Electric Sheep creates 3D virtual world content and solutions, as well as software products, interactive design and integration and production solutions. Electric Sheep's clients include MTV Networks, Time Warner's AOL and Major League Baseball.

The company also consults for Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life.