It might be responsible for millions of barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, but energy giant BP is also giving a great display of compelling corporate video.

For days now the company has been broadcasting a live video feed from remote controlled vehicles working on the Gulf seabed. It's a show that is as scary as it is compelling.

Depending on when you tune in to the feed, you're greeted with anything from alarming shots of oil spurting from a ruptured pipe to robotic arms trying desperately to stop it. Once you find it, it's hard to stop watching.

While nothing will save the company from the biggest PR disaster in modern memory, being this open about what it's doing to stop the flow has to be worth at least some good marks.

In any case, it represents a fantastic example of how internet video can be used to communicate with a global audience. No amount of media briefings or press releases can replace the ability to watch what's happening on the sea floor as it happens.

BP - once you've plugged the leak it's going to take months - if not years - to clean up the mess. But if you can maintain the sort of transparency that your bottom-of-the-ocean cameras have been providing, you might just save some of your corporate reputation yet.