The illusion - called Electrified - will see Blaine stand on a pillar for 72 hours this Friday without sleep or food and, as the name suggests, subject himself to a million volts of pure electricity.

Blaine will be kitted out in a chainmail Faraday suit and helmet surrounded by seven Tesla coils, each capable of a million volts and regulated by Intel's Ultrabook laptops. Only one will be activated at any one time but its up to audience members to select which one and to what intensity.

Sound risky? Don't forget this is the same man that survived 63 hours inside a block of ice, a week inside a coffin and, most famously, six weeks hanging over the Thames in a glass box.

With that track record, it's probably understandable that this is Blaine's first live performance in four years. Not to worry if you can't make it to New York though, as Intel will be streaming the event live. That way, audiences in London, Bejing, Tokyo and Sydney will also have a chance to dole out some electro-punishment.

The chip manufacturer will even allow the public to communicate with Blaine through Ultrabook satellite stations situated around a screen at these live venues. For us here in the UK, that venue will be held at the Truman Brewery in London's East End.

Electrified is the second in a series of planned events sponsored by Intel that will make up the Ultrabook Experience project. The project will showcase the new class of laptop that Intel developed in an effort to woo customers away from Apple's popular Macbook Air.

And if shooting a million bolts through a magician's body doesn't get you to sit up and take notice, nothing will.

"I had a vision of creating a performance the world will always remember, that is historic," says Blaine himself.

"Intel is giving me the technology to perform the most daring and shocking thing I've ever done, and has created a way to bring millions of people on a global stage."

The whole event will be streamed over the Electrified YouTube channel along with other details of the Ultrabook Experience.