Daredevil stuntman David Blaine has lit up New York for his latest high-voltage feat.

The illusionist is scheduled to spend three days and nights standing in the middle of a million volts of electric currents streamed by Tesla coils.

The stunt being staged on Pier 54, which began on Friday, is called Electrified: One Million Volts Always On.

Electrified is also being streamed on YouTube, thanks to computing company Intel.

Viewing stations are located in London, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney, and viewers at the stations are able to control the coils.

Thirty-nine-year-old Blaine is wearing a chainmail bodysuit as a barrier between himself and the electric currents.

"Being in the middle of a lightning storm, it feels so amazing, being in an environment you shouldn't be in," he said during a trial run ahead of the feat.

Stuart Weiss, Blaine's doctor, said the main risks include exposure to the ozone and nitrous oxides that are a by-product of ionised air, which humans should not inhale in large quantities.

A ventilation system ensures Blaine has breathable air, and a special visor in his helmet is protecting his eyes from the ultraviolet radiation of the arcing electricity.

He is also wearing noise-cancelling earphones, allowing him to hear and communicate with people on the ground, despite the noise of the Tesla coils.

Blaine's past stunts have included hanging upside down over Central Park, being buried alive and being encased in a block of ice.