We're fairly certain that the success of Volvo's first Treasure Hunt game, which was tied to the release of Disney's second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, took the swedish automaker by surprise. It certainly surprised us, as our initial post on the promotion racked up a record number of comments. Autoblog readers used the post as a common room to share tips and help others overcome the game's more difficult obstacles. All told, nearly 1,271 comments were left on that post.

With the third installment of Disney's swashbuckling franchise on the horizon, Volvo's ready to send our readers on another global hunt for treasure and the keys to a new XC90 SUV. This time, however, the treasure has not been buried on a sandy beach, but sits right now on the ocean floor somewhere. That's right, Volvo has placed a chest filled with $50,000 worth of actual gold in the ocean somewhere. Ballsy, we say. On May 4th, the hunt to find it will begin. You can preregister for the game here, and keep up with news at these two unofficial sites: The Hunt 2007 and Volvo The Hunt - 2007, the latter of which already has shots of the map you'll need to retrieve at a local Volvo dealership to begin the game. Just don't forget to skewer the sales guy with your cutlass on the way out. It's the pirate's way, after all.

[Source: Volvo]