July 17, 2001 -- The days of the perfect peanut butter sandwich may be here.

Pre-sliced peanut butter is on its way to U.S. store shelves in test markets, food researchers from Oklahoma State University said Monday.

The new form of peanut butter, which will come in individually wrapped plastic sheets, is the product of more than three years of intense research, and 500 different formulas.

"It looked good, it tasted good. We were excited," said William McGlynn, part of the team at Oklahoma State that worked on the project. "Their biggest hurdle was to get the peanut butter so it wouldn't stick to the wrap. But don't ask them how they did that."

The peanut butter comes individually wrapped in plastic sheets, like sliced cheese. A package of 16 one-ounce slices is expected to cost about $2.50 and start selling soon in Wal-Mart stores in Oklahoma and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, McGlynn said.

"The kids can make their own peanut butter sandwiches without making a mess. It's all about convenience."

Institutional customers, such as school cafeterias, also have expressed interest in uniform portions, he added. Only creamy peanut butter will be available at first, but McGlynn said researchers were hard at work on crunchy slices.

ABCNEWS Radio's Michael Barr and affiliate KTUL in Tulsa, Okla., contributed to this report.